They Might Be Giants — never an easy band to pin down — are recording an album that "falls somewhere between Tool and Aaliyah," according to one of

their producers.

Adam Schlesinger, of fellow New York pop-rock bands Fountains of Wayne and Ivy, said the duo of John Flansburgh and John Linnell cover a broad range of styles on the still-untitled record, which also features production work by new-wave tandem Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (Madness, Elvis Costello, Bush).

Schlesinger is producing three tracks, including a cover of the 1965 Georgie Fame #1 UK hit "Yeh Yeh."

"I did a song called 'Man It's So Loud in Here,' which is kind of about being trapped in a nightclub where you can't hear yourself talk," Schlesinger said. "And there's one called 'Another First Kiss,' which is an acoustic-based love song with great Everly Brothers-type harmonies"

They Might Be Giants are working in a Greenwich Village studio on the album, which is due in September.

Schlesinger's Fountains of Wayne won't have an album out anytime soon. But the New Jersey store they took their name from was immortalized in a recent episode of HBO's "The Sopranos," and "Joe Rey," from the group's 1996 self-titled debut, will be used in an upcoming episode.

Ivy's first album since 1997's Apartment Life is scheduled for U.S. release July 10 on Nettwerk America. Schlesinger and guitarist Andy Chase produced Long Distance, which includes a cover of British pop-rock quartet the Blow Monkeys' 1986 hit "Digging Your Scene" and was released overseas last year.

"Edge of the Ocean," the album's first single, is featured in the Jennifer Lopez movie "Angel Eyes," due in late May.

"The album as a whole is very groovy and atmospheric, and a little less jangle-guitar-oriented than our earlier stuff," Schlesinger said.

The sugary songwriter, who penned the title song to the Tom Hanks movie "That Thing You Do," recently produced the Verve Pipe's next album (see [article id="1435842"]"Verve Pipe Land Fountains Of Wayne Co-Founder For New Album"[/article]).

They Might Be Giants, who in the past few years have been involved in projects ranging from a children's album to Linnell's geography-themed State Songs, recently recorded a 37-track CD to accompany the sixth issue of the literary journal McSweeney's. Each track corresponds directly to a story or piece of artwork in the issue, which is available in bookstores and at www.mcsweeneys.net.

The duo delivered three previously unreleased tunes to November's "Malcolm

in the Middle" soundtrack, including the show's theme song, "Boss of Me"

(see [article id="1425383"]"They Might Be Giants, Basement Jaxx, OPM For 'Malcolm' "[/article]).

The quirky rockers behind such classics as "Particle Man" and "Birdhouse in Your Soul" are touring mostly colleges along the East Coast while recording their album.

TMBG tour dates, according to a band publicist: