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. 

World Premiere Video: "For Halloween This Year" - You and Me and the Rain (Lori Henriques and Todd McHatton)

You and Me and the Rain Cover Art lowres.jpg

It's been a busy past few weeks for Los Angeles' Todd McHatton.  Last week saw the release of his (first) EP and animated show with Mista Cookie Jar as part of Todd and Cookie.

This week, another new band he's a part of, You and Me and the Rain, is unleashed upon the world.  His partner in this effort?  Portland's Lori Henriques.

The first product of their collaboration is a duet about Halloween creativity called "For Halloween This Year," though to call it a "duet" sells it short by half, as both Henriques' older child and McHatton's younger one make vocal contributions.

The idea of combining Henriques' jazz and showtune sensibility and McHatton's psychedelic kindie was not obvious to me when I first heard of it, but their shared taste for nifty wordplay ("is rogue in vogue this year?") and their well-matched vocal tones shows that this could be very fruitful.  What could come from this? It's fun not knowing.

In any case, I'm pleased as punch to present the world premiere of the song's video, directed by Gina and Todd McHatton and offering low-cost, high-imagination costumes for Halloween (or anytime of year).

You and Me and the Rain (Lori Henriques and Todd McHatton) - "For Halloween This Year" [YouTube]

Monday Morning Smile: Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, and Sesame Street

I'm not posting this because I think you haven't seen this -- if you're a semi-regular reader of this site, this appeared probably a dozen times or more in your social media feeds last week.

No, I'm posting this clip of Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, and a bunch of Sesame Street muppets singing the Sesame Street theme song on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon because I want to make sure I have easy reference to it. 

Oh, and because it's awesome. 

Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, and cast of Sesame Street - "Theme from Sesame Street" [YouTube] 

Weekly Summary (9/23/13 - 9/29/13)

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.