'Nanobots'is the 16th studio album from Brooklyn-based alternative rock group They Might Be Giants. Uncharacteristically for the band, the album's title comes from the second track, "Nanobots". 'Nanobots' was released on March 5, 2013 on Idlewild Recordings ? the band's independent imprint ? with Megaforce Records in the US. One week before its physical release, 'Nanobots' was released digitally for streaming in its entirety through the band's SoundCloud, announced by Rolling Stone. Prior to this, the band had previewed the track "Call You Mom" in December 2012 through Rolling Stone. That song and two other tracks, "Black Ops" and "Lost My Mind," also saw an advance digital release on Nanobots EP in January 2013. In February, a fourth track, "You're On Fire", had also been previewed.
The album, which contains 25 tracks and runs approximately 45 minutes, was recorded in Manhattan and produced by Patrick Dillett. The relatively short run time is accounted for by the fact that the album includes many of what band member John Flansburgh describes as "extremely short songs". Flansburgh adds that "...the songs kind of stand alone. When you listen to the album alone, it has this manic pacing to it with the short songs. It makes for a different kind of listening experience." John Linnell commented that these songs were naturally written as short songs to avoid over-populating them with unnecessary verses and choruses. The album artwork was designed by Paul Sahre, using collages by artist Sam Weber.