I've been listening a lot to
Pink, the third album from the DC-area band
Rocknoceros, set to be released this week, and it's probably probably appropriate that I've been doing so while giving the upcoming Recess Monkey album a few spins. I've
said before that the two bands share similarities in my mind -- besides the obvious fact that they're both trios, they also share a sense of humor, earnestness that isn't cloying, and rabid fanbases in their hometowns.
Like Recess Monkey, Rocknoceros also writes some excellent songs, and that continues to be true on this latest release. The album starts with the exuberant title track, perhaps the most hyper song in the band's oeuvre. You're plunged right into the album, kids are shouting the chorus, and you're wondering if maybe the band should cut back to a couple espresso shots a day. But rest assured that sanity returns -- "The Train Song" could've been written 60 years ago in its gentle swing and explanation of the different parts of the train. The fabulous "Playground" is a missing Byrds kids song, and "Big Wheel" is a crunchy Southern rocker with the irresistible refrain "How far can a Big Wheel ride?" Some songs, like "Lucky Lindy" downright take their time getting to where they want to go. (I can do without "Virginia," the song, if not the state, but given how big the band's fanbase is, I'm just waiting for "DC" or "Maryland" on the next album.)
Like the previous two Rocknoceros albums,
Pink! is geared at primarily a preschool, early-elementary crowd. There is no small amount of advice-giving as on "Put Your Hat On," "Nappin' Time," and (for the parents) "Don't Give Up" but it's put over with such tunefulness that it will stand up to repeated parental listens. The band sounds remarkably full-bodied for being just a trio, and the album sounds great sonically. You can hear that sonic quality throughout the whole album, but especially on the final track "Always Tell Your Grandma," which is every bit as reserved as "Pink" is exuberant. The a capella harmonizing on the 2-minute track of advice-telling (tell you grandma you love her -- tell your
parents you love 'em) ends up sounding almost like a hymn. That sounds ponderous and awful, but it's one of my favorite tracks of the year thus far.
The album is most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 8. You can hear samples from the 39-minute album at its
CDBaby page (as well as a few live cuts at Rocknoceros' main page).
While there isn't an absolute classic song like "Big Head" or "Pluto" and the band's humor is a little more muted on this offering,
Pink! is definitely the band's most consistent and fullest-sounding album yet. It's only a matter of time before the band starts conquering other states besides Virginia -- there are many other states who could use a new state song. Definitely recommended.
With about 30 years of recording behind them, Trout Fishing in America have a back catalog that is plenty large enough with which to start doing some interesting things. To wit, My Name Is Chicken Joe, the first book collaboration the duo of Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet have done with The Secret Mountain publishing company.
The collection is out this week and it essentially is a "best of" collection of some of Trout's wordier, folkier tracks. The "star," so to speak, of the 11-track collection is "Chicken Joe," which gets its lyrics (about animals with non-sensical names like the cat named "Chicken Joe") illustrated over a couple dozen pages. The illustrations by Stephane Jorisch remind me of gonzo illustrator Ralph Steadman with about 90% less gonzo. (There is no other way to describe them than "cute.") Lyrics to the other ten tracks each get a couple pages of illustration as well.
But we're mostly about the music here. The 11 tracks -- all previously-released -- include a number of excellent Trout Fishing tracks, not just the title track, but also "My Best Day," "It's A Puzzle," and "Fill It Up." For the most part, the selections tend toward the folkier (notwithstanding the rocking "I Can Dance" and the klezmer-touched "Boiled Okra and Spinach"). It's a fine collection, but it by no means is a complete Trout Fishing "Best Of." The collection lacks Trout classics such as "18 Wheels on a Big Rig," "Three Little Ducks," and "The Window," but those are songs that depend upon interaction between Grimwood and Idlet and not so much on the lyrics. Written down on paper, those latter songs wouldn't be so interesting -- it's Trout's classic live stage banter that makes those songs favorites to many listeners. The songs here are songs on which the lyrics themselves take center stage.
The songs will be of most interest to kids ages 5 through 9. (The book, maybe a little younger.) You can hear clips of the 33-minute album wherever books/CDs are sold online (or watch this video of the title track). If you're interested, you can also buy the CD just by itself, but with the book barely costing more than the CD, I say go for the book. (I should note that book itself is of high quality -- typically the books in these book/CD arrangements have a pretty cheap feel to them, but not this one.)
Longtime Trout Fishing in America fans will likely appreciate the book My Name Is Chicken Joe because it marries some delightful illustrations to a sweet Trout song, though may be disappointed by the lack of even a single new track. I'd recommend it more to newcomers to the band, who may appreciate the book more for that "best of" quality. Here's hoping, though, it leads to a couple more books (and, by extension, a couple more greatest hits volumes).
The story of Brooklyn's Libby Shapiro isn't terribly novel at this point. As she puts it in her PR materials:
Rather than record a full-length follow-up to their fine 2007 collection Educated Kid, the Bay Area band 
I wouldn't say that 
It's a sign, I think, of how popular 
