I recently got an email notice with the best musical news I've heard all year. Next month, They Might Be Giants will unveil their new album for children: “Here Comes Science.” Yes! This is gonna be good.

Of the bands I've listened to over the last 20 years, none has followed the contours of my life path as conveniently as They Might Be Giants. When I started college in the early 90s, they were the hippest newish thing in “college rock.” (I can neither confirm nor deny that I danced ridiculously to “Ana Ng” and “Istanbul” at the Nectarine Ballroom years before it became known as (shudder) “The Necto.”) Now that I'm a father, They Might Be Giants have become the saving grace of children's music, with three (soon four) of the smartest and rockingest kids' albums of this or any decade.

What makes They Might Be Giants so great? Throughout their career, TMBG have made songs which, even while not intended for children, are lit by a sense of childlike wonder. One song takes you to visit the cow beneath the sea; the next offers up a shoehorn with teeth.

Meanwhile, their music swings so hard, and their lyrics are so playful, that you often don't realize until the third or fourth listen that you're hearing some of the sharpest evocations of humanity in all of rock music.

Take the song “Older” from the band's 2001 album “Mink Car”:

“You're older than you've ever been and now you're even older and now you're even older and now you're even older You're older than you've ever been and now you're even older and now you're older still.”

Sung deadpan over stripped-down instrumentation and catchy, contrapuntal melody lines, this is witty stuff. We laugh at the simplicity of it. At the same time, it's a melancholy truth - you really do grow older every second you sit listening to this song or reading this blog. The repetitions (“and now you're even older”) make us hyper-conscious of mortality - time is passing and there's nothing for it. We're going to die.

This dichotomy between silly and melancholy has always been at the heart of TMBG's best work, from early hits such as “Particle Man” (“Person man, person man / Hit on the head with a frying pan / Lives his life in a garbage can / Person man”) to recent favorites like “Stalk of Wheat”:

I was all out of luck like a duck, like a duck that died I was all out of juice like a moose, like a moose denied I was all out of money like a bunny that's broke I was all out of work like a jerk who's a joke And I was out of ideas, like I is, like I is...

After the litany of animal similes, the “jerk who's a joke” line surprises us with its sudden dose of self-loathing. It's as if the speaker has been trying to make light of a bad situation, playing it cute to be unemployed and broke, but breaks character at the end to reveal the despair behind the act. You don't get pathos that rich from, say, Metallica. And this is in the chorus of one of the jolliest-sounding jingles you'll ever hear. My kids and I dance and sing along like fools.

What I'm getting at is this: as a parent listening to TMBG, you get to be completely engaged by serious (and seriously rocking) music while also knowing your kids will get swept along as if the tunes were made for them. And this is with TMBG's work for adults. The equation also works in reverse: TMBG's music for kids is sophisticated and smart, and never makes you feel like you're listening to anything “childish.”

Could I pile up examples? I could. But enough of that. If you don't already know, do yourself a favor and look them up. I will say that I did not buy TMBG's latest kids' album, “Here Come the 123s,” for my kids. Oh no. Our household copy is mine. I received it as a gift from a student who knew I was a fan (because I'd played “Dr. Worm” in the classroom, naturally), and it is a prized possession. When I have to take along a CD of children's music for a long car ride, if I can help it, this is what I'll grab.

So it is with the utmost enthusiasm that I await the September release of “Here Comes Science.” With songs about photosynthesis, the planets, paleontology, and computer aided design, it can't help but be awesome, can it? I only wonder what subject they'll tackle next, since they've already covered the alphabet and mathematics. Maybe “Here Comes Social Studies” in 2012? Keep your fingers crossed.

If you missed part one, check it here. Coming next week: Fighting back against Kidz Bop, one mix CD at a time.

Scott Beal is a stay-at-home dad who's teaching himself how to play his daughter's favorite Arcade Fire song.