Various Artists (Minimusica) - Vol. 3 Els Animals

Artist:  Various (Minimusica)

Album:  Vol. 3, Els Animals

Age Range: 3 through 7

Description: There have been a lot of Spanish-language albums for kids released over the past few years.  Most of them have a relatively plain and/or traditional sound.  Even my favorite of these, Moona Luna’s fine album Piñata Party, is mostly a mix of pop and more traditional Mexican instrumentation (e.g., accordion) and melodies.

Minimusica's third album of indie rock for kids has a sound distinct from all these other Spanish-language albums.  For one thing, it does have an eclectic indie-rock sound very familiar to fans of groups like Lunch Money, The Board of Education, and the The Pop Ups.  (Heck, insert 3 indie-rock bands from the past 20 years, and that sentence might still work.)  Another distinction is that it's not just a Spanish-language album, it's actually a Spanish album.  Because there is little need to teach 6-year-old kids from Spain how to speak Spanish, this frees up the artists to sing about more the topic -- here, animals -- with a little more subtlety.  I particularly liked the 2 tracks from Candela y los Supremos, but Dobie Pletina's "En la ciudad" is also lots of fun.  Listen to the 25-minute album on YouTube here.   Vol. 3 Els Animals isn't necessarily easy for the native-English speaker to understand, but it's still fun for the native-English speaker to bop to.  Recommended.

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

You Are an Astronaut - Human-Tim + Robot-Tim

Artist: Human-Tim + Robot-Tim

Album: You Are an Astronaut

Age Range: 3 through 7

Description: With a name like Human-Tim + Robot-Tim, you would probably forgiven if you were expecting this album to be all techno, a Daft Punk for kids.  Instead, this album, the second from the alter ego of Chicago-area musician Tim Knuth, might appeal more to fans of the rootsy Chicagoland label Bloodshot Records.  (Should the label ever wish to release a sequel to their classic The Bottle Let Me Down compilation, "Little Bob's Big Day" is a must.)  The title track is a nifty little metaphor in song, while "Hey Little Doggie" features some Southern rock riffs and a kid-centric song about pets.  With its songs about space, animals, and sharing (and, hilariously and educationally, the "Salivary Gland"), the 46-minute album is targeted right at kindergarteners and kids just on either side of that milestone.  Robots might like it, but your 5-year-old will like it more.  Recommended.

Sunglasses - The Que Pastas

Artist: The Que Pastas 

Album: Sunglasses 

Age Range: 3 through 8

Description: The second album from the Que Pastas (and first full-length) tackles a fairly standard set of kid-appropriate topics -- the freedom of summer ("First Day of Summer"), summoning courage ("Gene the Brave"), and pirates ("Pirate from the Past").  Sometimes Gene Davis' vocals can be pretty talky (see "Sunglasses"), but some of the songs from Davis and band partner Simon Flory can legitimately be described as beautiful -- "Love" is a dorky and giddy celebration of the title emotion while album-closer "Hooray for Fall" features a chorus of kids and the most fleshed-out production on the album.  (Davis' relocation to Austin from Denver helped no doubt in getting Salim Nourallah and Jim Vollentine (Spoon) to produce and engineer the album, which sounds good, but is mostly lo-fi in approach.)  Listen to some tracks from the 27-minute here.  Nothing revolutionary, but it's a decent set of songs, with a handful of very good ones making it worth the time to check out.  Recommended.

It's Not Fair To Me - Bill Harley & Keith Munslow

Artists: Bill Harley & Keith Munslow 

Album: It's Not Fair To Me 

Age Range: 5 through 10

Description:  Let's see, an album featuring Harley and Munslow -- probably a somber, abstract, mostly instrumental album, right?

Of course not.

The two musicians have helped with each other's albums in the past, but this is the first featuring both of them equally.  Most of the ten songs on the 34-minute album go for humor, if not broad (the title track, featuring some very funny banter between the two, "Copycat") then just in attitude ("My Eraser," an ode to, yes, an eraser).  Their observations about squabbling siblings resonate because they're true to life generally (not just families.  Harley and Munslow know their way through slightly older musical styles, exemplified best by "Give Me Back My Hat," a rollicking 12-bar blues and one of the album's highlights.  The duo's enjoyment of the other's company is never more obvious than in the album closer, "Hideous Sweater."  Give it to your kids' aunt or uncle -- they'll understand.  Recommended.

Chocolalala - Mister G

Artist:  Mister G

Album:  Chocolalala

Age Range: 4 through 8

Description:  After recording a handful of Spanish-language songs on his previous albums, the Massachusetts-based Mister G goes all-in on his 2012 album.  The result is an album that gives his energetic folk-pop-rock a 90% Spanish spin.  The title track's got a fun sing-along chorus (it's great live), while "Señorita Mariposa" gently sways along. Listen to the whole album here.   For families seeking to expand their Spanish-language kids music collection, the album will definitely do so, but even those families who don't care about the album's bilingual basis will probably find a lot of the songs fit well in their daily kindie rotation.  Recommended.

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

Puppy Dog Jig - Owen Duggan

Artist:  Owen Duggan

Album: Puppy Dog Jig

Age Range: 1 through 5

Description:  It's been a long time to wait for the follow-up kids' album from Texan Owen Duggan, nearly eight years since An Elephant Never Forgets.  But here it is!  And while the target audience for his first album has long since aged out of his demographic, there's a whole new preschool-aged crowd who can be introduced to Duggan's sweet, gentle voice and song selections.  There are a bunch of animal-related songs, a mix of Duggan originals and covers, including, just as I'd requested eight years ago, a cover of "Puff the Magic Dragon."  There is no sly humor targeted at the parents here, just child-focused folk music with touches of bluegrass, Celtic, and jazz.  The 28-minute album isn't meant for the families look to RAWK, but for families looking for a Raffi old-school sound that isn't, you know, Raffi himself, Puppy Dog Jig is worth a listen.  Recommended.

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

The Colored Pencil Factory - Astrograss

Artist: Astrograss 

Album: The Colored Pencil Factory

Age Range: 3 through 8

Description: There's not a lot of bluegrass available for kids, but Brooklyn-based band Astrograss flies the newgrass flag proudly.  There are few traditional songs on the album ("Shortenin' Bread" and "Sail Away Ladies," to name a couple), but for the most part they're originals.  Some are more traditional in their approach to their subject matter ("Playground"), but more of the originals are songs that meander into and out of wild Shel Silverstein-inspired territory (a sick kid wishing for a "Brand New Nose," dreaming of life in colors from "The Colored Pencil Factory").  Although the subjects are geared toward kids, the solos are every bit as complex as what you'd hear on albums targeted at adults.

The 49-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 9.    Recommended for bluegrass fans and for families looking for some variety in their daily diet of 3-minute kid-friendly pop-rock songs.

Raise a Ruckus - Hullabaloo

Artist: Hullabaloo 

Album: Raise a Ruckus 

Age Range: 3 to 7

Description: Hullabaloo has always taken a fairly low-key approach to its music on record, but over time Steve Denyes and Brendan Kremer have gradually widened the number of folks present in the studio so that it's a full band.  For their 2012 album Raise a Ruckus , the duo brought in producer Tor Hyams and a number of guest musicians, including Lunch Money's Molly Ledford, Marcy Marxer, and Buck Howdy.  The result is an album that retains the "organic, free range" folk-music feel that's always been essential to the band but opens up just enough stylistically to make it the most well-rounded release yet from them -- "My Eyes" is a refinement of Denyes' celebration of nature, while "Trash Is My Treasure" marries that natural sensibility to a silly celebration of seagulls -- it's a fine, fine song.  The band's best album yet.  Recommended.  

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