Band photo of Chibi Kodama
The band Chibi Kodama makes family music in every sense of that phrase -- it's kid-appropriate, features all 7 members of John Cullimore's family (him, his wife Yvonne, and his five kids, though perhaps the infant doesn't play much), and generally takes as its lyrical inspiration the emotional terrain of family life. Even considering how kids music has generally steered more into emotional health with less of a focus on, say, learning how to brush your teeth, Chibi Kodama stands out for being in touch with itself emotionally.
Between Main Street and Neverland cover
On April 1 the band releases its fifth album, Between Main Street and Neverland, and it's every bit as dialed into the ups and downs of family life as the albums that preceded it. Says Cullimore,
"This last year of our lives has been one of the most crazy, traumatic and intense that we've ever experienced. I tried very hard with this new album to put the ideas of coming through trauma and having victory over it into songs that every family and child could relate to. And thus far is is our most favorite project to date."
The leadoff video from the album is for the title track, and in its rock star poses and silly kids-being-kids (and adults-being-adults) clips, it's a really good introduction to the band if you're not familiar with 'em. Or a welcome return if you are. (Cullimore says that they wanted it "to serve as a sort of re-introduction to ourselves as a family and band.") I'm happy to be giving the video its world premiere.
Chibi Kodama - "Between Main Street and Neverland" [YouTube]
