Review: Kingdom Animalia - The Short Films

When you receive as many kids music albums -- and press releases -- as I do, you tend to discount claims from newcomers to the kindie world that some album brings something new to the kids music.  (The guaranteed surefire best way to get an experienced kids music reviewer to listen to a kids music album with an unpromising attitude? Have them introduce it to the reviewer with the phrase "Finally, a kids music album the whole family can enjoy.")

So given that I was introduced to Canadian band The Short Films via this April article which suggested that there wasn't a lot of complex kids music out there, this could all have gone very poorly.  But before I dismissed them out of hand, I listened to one of the tracks, "Mr. Wolf," and realized that, whatever the band's familiarity with current kindie music notwithstanding, their album Kingdom Animalia (released a couple weeks ago) could very well offer a distinctive sound.

Calling that song a reworking of the Three Little Pigs story only scratches the surface of its oddity -- Tessa Jennison's powerful and distinctive voice struttingly gives a different perspective on the pig-wolf interaction while husband Russell Jennison and drummer Ryan Dugal create an atmospheric background that perfectly matches the slight sense of unease of the lyrics ("So don't misunderstand them / When they ask you in for tea, / 'Cause they always have a crazing / For a wolf between the teeth").

The entire album has a dream-like effect -- "Pegafox" is about a make-believe animal, for example, the body of a red fox with the wings of a red-tailed hawk.  "The Mysterious Okapi" is the kids song we never knew Portishead had written about an animal almost none of us know.   Even songs about relatively common animals like "Cat," which features a vigorous piano accompaniment from Jennison herself, outlines the (accurately) complex feelings we often have with our pets ("I'm a cumbersome burden who sits at your door / Like a cat who won't stay away, / "Who is eating her way through your shoes and into your heart.").  These are Studied Songs for the Very Young, Raffi as interpreted by Fiona Apple.

The 34-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 9.  (It's an album not so much for dancing as for listening, so it might not work for every audience.)  Besides the single track linked above, you can listen via Spotify.  For the moment, it's a digital-only release, though plans are in the works to have an accompanying book featuring the distinctive artwork made in conjunction with the album.

I can't say that Kingdom Animalia is completely unique-- heck, there's already one excellent album about animals that doesn't employ pop-rock as its musical foundation -- but it is lovely and, at times, mesmerizing.  If you've read this far, then I think you have a pretty good idea if your family will love love love this album.  There's room for all sorts in the kindie world -- Raffi and more -- and I'd like to welcome The Short Films to this world.  Please make 'em feel at home.  Highly recommended.

Review: Desert Island Disc - Recess Monkey

Rather than complaining about Recess Monkey's incredibly high level of productivity and quality as I have multiple times in the past, I thought I'd try to, you know, straight-up review the Seattle band's tenth (!) album for families, the recently-released Desert Island Disc.

Novel, I know.   (Besides, how am I ever going to top this interview?)

As with many Recess Monkey albums, the band's latest album is nominally a concept album, loosely tied around the theme of being stranded on a desert island, the follow-up to their last album, this summer's Deep Sea Diver .  And as with most Recess Monkey albums, following the theme isn't strictly necessary, as the songs stand up well enough without the scaffolding of a theme to prop up interest in their young listeners.

Indeed, if the songs hold together in any particular way, it's more in their sound.  In the orchestrations (from Jherek Bischoff, brother of drummer Korum Bischoff), toned-down retro-rock, and love songs, this is easily their most Beatles-esque album since their little-heard debut Welcome to Monkey Town .  From the shuffle of "Pearls of Wisdom" to the sweeping strings on "Dessert Island" to the gorgeous love song "Long Gone," there are lots of echoes of the Fab Four's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band  (save for the "Getting a Sunburn," for which the band is probably getting lawyered up in anticipation of the inevitable cease-and-desist copyright letter from the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson).  Maybe it's just all the ukulele -- never a bad thing in my book -- but the mellow sound puts more emphasis on Drew Holloway's songwriting.

I don't necessarily hear the band playing many of these calmer songs in concert (notable exception: "Hide and Seek"), but I could see this desert island disk being a popular choice for snowed-in wintry mornings.  And, yes, I said "love songs" -- "Long Gone" and "Smooth Sailing" are sweet songs, as emotional as anything as the band's recorded, packing a wallop.

The 40-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 9.  As noted above, it's not necessarily as danceable or totally goofy as some of their previously albums, though that's a deliberate choice.  You can stream the whole album here.

One would think that it's difficult for a band to turn out as much great music as Recess Monkey has in the past not-even-a-decade.   I could be stranded on a desert island for that entire period of time and be lucky to write a small fraction of the great songs they've produced over that time.  So let's be thankful that the incredibly productive and focused trio continues to produce wonderful music.  Regardless of Desert Island Disc  actually makes it onto your own family's "desert island disks" collection, it's really good. Highly recommended.

Note: I received a copy of this album for possible review. 

Itty-Bitty Review: Block Party! - Poochamungas

In many John Joyce is a great example of the openness of the kindie scene.  The Chicago-area firefighter took some harmonica lessons at the Old Town School of Folk Music, then guitar lessons, and then, eventually heading up Poochamungas, his kindie rock band.  Because Poochamungas is a side project, it's taken the band some time to record and release their second album, but the result, Block Party! , is finally here.

It's a step up from their first album in many ways.  The biggest strength of the album is the band's sound, which often has a driving bluesy sound reminiscent of Brady Rymer (kindie-wise) or Bruce Springsteen (erm, not kindie).  Songs like "Around the World" and "Till the Sun Goes Down" and bonus track "Imagination Train" -- three of the album's best tracks -- feature that sound.  (I also liked the arrangement on "Refrigerator Box.")  While Joyce has a genial demeanor that can work well live and on certain tracks, vocals are not his strength and so he wisely shares lead vocals with a number of his bandmates.  The song topics aren't much different from a lot of kindie records; the wistfulness of some tracks for bygone days ("Games We Played" and "My Favorite Summer Day"), however, may elude some of the younger listeners while appealing more to the parents.

The 34-minute album is targeted at kids ages 4 through 8.  While Block Party isn't without tracks that could appear on just about any kindie album, there are a number of good songs here that I think a number of families will appreciate; the album is recommended especially for families with classic rock bloodlines.  Joyce and his band have shown definite growth since their debut 3 years ago -- I'm interested to see where they are 3 years from now.

Note: I received a copy of the album for possible review. 

Itty-Bitty Review: Bear Hunt! - Josh and the Jamtones

Those of you who've seen Josh and the Jamtones in concert know that to call them high-energy is to underestimate the degree of enthusiasm they bring to a live gig.  The band Brings It.

You can hear a lot of that energy on Bear Hunt!, the third album from the Boston-area band.  The exclamation at the end of "Everybody Dance!" isn't window-dressing, it's a near command, and those kids who are still standing after that song probably won't make it through the next song, the just-as-energetic "Pirate's Life."  ("Snow Day" and the  similarly amped.)  The band gets an assist from occasional Dan Zanes collaborator Father Goose, an appropriate guest artist given the band's reggae and roots rock tendencies, on a couple tracks -- who knew "Swing Low" was a song about coming home from school?

I am not generally a big skit fan, and while Josh Shriber and chief musical collaborator Patrick Hanlin, generate quite a few laughs in their 4 skits that reenact in a skewed way the classic "Bear Hunt" song, devoting about 40% of their album's 44 minute run time to the skits takes away a lot of the energy generated by the songs themselves.  They felt more appropriate for live show banter.  (Judge for yourself, perhaps, by listening to the stream of four of the songs album, best for kids ages 3 through 7, below.)

Josh and the Jamtones are definitely a band to watch as their live shows have attracted a lot of attention.  The music on Bear Hunt!  doesn't try anything new, but is given a bit of flash and shine and if it doesn't make your family laugh, at the very least it's probably gonna make you dance.  Recommended

Note: I received a copy of the album for possible review. 

Review: Lishy Lou and Lucky Too - Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band

It is fun to see artists who initially just dip their toes into the family music pond dive in as they get more comfortable in their new waters. 

To extend the metaphor a little bit, when it comes to family music, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band have plunged in with scuba gear and a new houseboat.   Since releasing his debut EP Luckiest Adventure a little more than 3 years ago, Diaz has acquired a full-blown band, married dynamo Alisha Gaddis, and barely stopped to take a breath.

On their fifth and latest album, Lishy Lou and Lucky Too , the couple's energy is used to enliven the record's conceit, loosely structured around the "Lishy and Lucky Radio Show," which may soon be transitioning to a TV show.  The album features a cast of wacky characters (a time traveler, a traveling salesman, a nosy neighbor) united in their taste for bad puns.  The jokes told in the interstitial sketches may amuse your local kindergartner, but will likely generate groans in the adult set.

They sit somewhat uneasily here because they interrupt the true stars, the songs themselves.  Co-written by Diaz, Gaddis, and Michael Farkas, many of them are irrepressible pop hits.  "Thingamajig" is a top contender for the year's best kindie pop song, while "Pockets," about Farkas' character who only communicates via instrument, has a strutting feel.  (The theme song is pretty darn catchy, too.)  It's not solely uptempo -- "Goodnight My Love" is a tender lullaby with nifty guitar work from Diaz. 

The 35-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8.  On one level, the album is an introduction to an actual TV show Diaz and Gaddis hope to make featuring all the characters on the album, and I think that concept will work better there than it does here.  But on another level, with songs about Jackie Robinson and Amelia Earhart, along with the fabulous album closer "When I Grow Up," ("When I grow up / I won't close my ears / to things I may not want to hear"... "When I grow up / I'm gonna dream / farther than my eyes can see") the album is also a celebration of dreamers and doers, of taking chances like Diaz and Gaddis are doing.  On that level, the album succeeds fabulously.  Definitely recommended.

Note: I received a copy of the album for possible review. 

Review: Lloyd H. Miller - S.S. Brooklyn

In the course of several albums with his band the Deedle Deedle Dees, Lloyd Miller (I'm sorry, I just can't get used to that "H." he's undoubtedly using to differentiate himself from the other Lloyd Millers making music) has indulged his taste for stories of people making an impact on the world -- Harriet Tubman, Mahatma Gandhi, Cool Papa Bell.  They're songs about famous historical characters, but they're primarily stories about characters.  The songs aren't about them because they're famous -- they're famous because they're interesting.

Although the Dees have had some success (and they're working on an album for release in 2014), Miller's primary musical expression has been his singalong classes throughout Brooklyn and for his first formal solo album, S.S. Brooklyn , Miller's gone to his singalong roots for some inspiration.  A song like "I'm a Duck!" has nothing to do with famous people and everything to do with waddling around a small space.  He turns Dees classics like "Henry (Hi Ya Ya)," "Do the Tub-Tub-Tubman," and "Honk Honk (Major Deegan)" into more intimate audience-interactive affairs.

Interspersed with these familiar songs are some newer songs, more intimate to the neighborhood -- personal history rather than history writ large.  "I'm Gonna Light Up the World" is a simple inspirational song that sprung out of Miller's trip to Haiti to visit a friend with a non-profit providing low-cost lanterns there.  "Working on a Bridge" (co-written with his daughter) is about metaphorical bridges, not about the many actual bridges in NYC (listen to ""Carroll Street Bridge" for that).  Meanwhile, songs like "Gowanus Canal" and "Brooklyn by Bike" celebrate the borough.

Dean Jones, who produced the Dees' last album, is back to produce this one, and he and Miller keep a light touch on the production -- few instruments, and somewhat raw, particularly tracks that are closest to Miller's singalong roots and those that feature kids singing.   I particularly like the closing title track, on which Miller in slightly rambling fashion fondly sings his memories of the community in Brooklyn and slowly builds until -- appropriately -- there's a big crowd singing the final chorus.  I was expecting to find more of a disconnect between the singalong stuff and the newer material, but surprisingly it flows together fairly well.

The album is probably most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7.  You can listen to the 47-minute album's first three tracks here.

S.S. Brooklyn is loose, a celebration of life right next door.  Miller's neighbors will find this album thoroughly enjoyable.  Those of you in the hinterlands of non-Brooklyn (folks like me), however, shouldn't be scared off by that description, though.  There's plenty for you to enjoy even if you don't know your Park Slope from your Gowanus.  Definitely recommended.

Note: I received a copy of this album for possible review.