Alternative musicians They Might Be Giants have had one of the most ridiculously varied careers in music history with 16 studio albums, successes in children’s music, TV themes and other assorted projects. Now comes their newest adult-oriented album, “Nanobots.”

It is a bizarre collage of alt-pop songs with several interludes that last just a few seconds, all backed by the multi-instrumental prowess of John Flansburgh and John Linnell, plus their touring band and several guest musicians, all of whom are impressive. But it is the songs that matter.   

And when it comes down to that, this album is hard for me to get behind. It is pretty musical, but it gets close to Weird Al territory without fully crossing the line, and I just can not bear it. It is like they are trying to be serious and silly at the same time. My breaking point was “Stuff Is Way,” with the line “It was catastro, catastro-feeling good,” a line so unbearably stupid I hate myself for re-writing it. Some of the songs also sound like outtakes from their children’s albums, especially the scientific love song “Tesla.”

It was not all bad, though. I enjoyed the gentle ballad “Sometimes A Lonely Way,” refreshing without any silliness, and the Dr. Seuss-meets-Lovecraft lyrics of “The Darlings of Lumberland.”

I like humorous music, but silliness and whimsy in music are like sugar in a cocktail: better none than a grain too much. They Might Be Giants just poured it in without looking.