For those of you who liked the soft, soothing sounds of Renee and Jeremy's debut CD, It's a Big World! (I'll include myself in that group), good news -- the duo announced in their newsletter earlier this week that they're currently writing songs for the follow-up and plan to enter the studio in August to record it. (Does that mean they won't be using Renee's nursery like they did with the debut? Pity, though as I think about it, the nursery, empty as the pregnant Renee recorded the debut, probably has, you know, an actual child. How would you like it if somebody decided to record an album in your bedroom?)
Anyway, just because it's so beautiful, the title track's video is after the jump.
New Music From the Terrible Twos' "Jerzy the Giant"
I told you a while back about the Terrible Twos' new album, Jerzy the Giant. OK, I said the album was coming out July 28th on Vagrant, and I was wrong about that -- it's July 29th -- but that's less than a month away.
Anyway, Matt Pryor and the band have finally posted three tracks from the album at their Myspace page, and they're worth the six minutes or so of your time -- "Old Man Miller," "Big Baby J," and "Archibald McAllister" are fair representive tracks, continuing the band's mixture of sweet and occasionally sour. It's hard to kvetch with a song ("Archibald") that features a) a sing-along, and b) the word "malodorous".
You'll have to wait awhile for the review here, but if you like those tracks, you can feel safe in pre-ordering the album.
Who Knows If Your Kids'll Go For This?
Most of the time, I'm pretty much a strict constructionist when it comes to kids music -- if it ain't geared for the kids in some way, I'm not covering it.
But, hey, why not bend the rules a little bit. I missed this news a couple weeks back, but The Broken West just posted a new track from their new album on Merge to their Myspace page. "Perfect Games" has got the great laid-back power-pop vibe (if such a thing can exist that made their debut I Can't Go On, I'll Go On so much fun to listen over and over. Just shy of a great album.
Really, go now, listen to the new track, then go listen to "Down in the Valley," "On the Bubble," and "So It Goes," and tell me that's not some crunchy pop goodness right there. Your kids will wait for you.
Kimya Dawson's Alphabutt Cover Art, Tracklisting
You know, I tried to come up with a snappier/wittier headline for this, but all the possibilities -- "Alphabutt is Alpha-better than most!," "Do Ya Like Kimya?," "D'Juno Kimya Has a Kids' Album?" -- seemed, well, way too cheesy. (I gotta admit, though, I kinda like that last one.)
Still, I think you get the point. Kimya Dawson, who was the major contributor to the Juno soundtrack that an unexpected chart-topper earlier this year, has recorded a full-length kids' album called Alphabutt. Set to be released September 9, it's going to be one of the more high profile kids' albums of the year.
And I happen to have the cover art and tracklisting. So, courtesy of K Records, here you go...
Contest: Name The New Lunch Money Album!
If anticipation for a new album is represented by "E," awesomeness of most recent album is "A," and the amount of time since that most recent album is "T," then E = A * T.
And for me there is no "E" higher in the kids music world right now than for the next Lunch Money album. Their first album, Silly Reflection (review), is a classic, filled with tiny songwriting gems.
The album was released in late 2004, so when their new album is released on January 17, 2009, - the date they will appear on the band's website and first sell them at a show, according to the band - it will be a looong 4+ years between releases (and an entirely different kids' music landscape).
Molly Ledford told me their tentative name for the album, saying it "captures the kind of kid-generated fun we are trying to salute in our songs," (and I agree, it does) but says the name's "not official."
So here's where I -- or rather, you -- can provide Molly and the band some (unsolicited) help. And win a copy of their first album in the bargain.
This Sounds Like Nothing Else
Remember when I told you about about the new album from Seattle band Central Services Board of Education?
Well, I've been spinning a pre-release version for the past few days. I can't tell you what my final verdict on the album (I need to figure that out myself) but I can tell you this, the new album sounds like nothing else you'll hear in the kids music genre all year. I can't think of another album that will generate the chatter this one will. "Audacious" is a pretty good adjective here. One they'd probably use.
