If I Were An Otter - Alice DiMicele

Album: If I Were An Otter: Songs for Kids of All Ages

Age Range:

Description: An album for you old-school folk music fans. DiMicele, who hails from Medford, Oregon (at the state's southern border), has a slightly raspy voice that serves her well when she gets into bluesy/country territory such as on "Honey Bee Blues" and her duet with Vince Herman, "City Mouse/Country Mouse. DiMicele dips into the folk songbook for well-known tunes as "This Little Light of Mine," "The Garden Song" ("Inch by inch, row by row..."), and "The Monkey and the Engineer." Her originals are just as positive -- "We Can Be Anything" and "Celebrate the Rain" are as optimistic as their titles. Amidst all these good vibes, I liked the title track, silly and playful. The album (funded on Kickstarter, incidentally) will appeal most to kids ages 3 through 7; you can stream the album here. Families looking for an amped-up 21st century sound, this isn't for you, but if you're looking for an a solid album of Americana-tinged folk music suitable for families of all ages, If I Were An Otter will probably hit your sweet spot. Recommended.

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

Love, Cake & Monsters - Princess Katie & Racer Steve

Artist: Princess Katie & Racer Steve

Album: Love, Cake & Monsters

Age Range: 4 to 7

Description: On their fourth album, the New York duo don't vary much the formula from their first three albums -- shiny pop (/ska/alt-rock) with the occasional boost of self-esteem mixed in with some self-deprecating humor -- but it's a formula that works well for them. They've got themselves a brand new song about being at a rock show ("Come On Out"), plus songs about hugging ("Hug It Out") and cooling off periods ("Take It On Over (Time Out)"). They also include their fancy (with a string orchestra and everything) not-too-spooky Halloween song, er, "Halloween" and the Beatlesque "Comet Pinky's Love Cake" The album features 3 skit tracks, and while I am not a big skit fan, in this case the skits are somewhat amusing, don't overwhelm the music (with the last skit at the very end for easy skipping if necessary), and fit in with their overall approach to the music.

You can stream the album here. I don't think the latest album will make any converts if your family has previously not gone for PKRS, but old fans should eat this up, and those families new to kids music looking for some attitude, empowerment, and occasional silliness will find this appealing. Recommended.

The Return of Phineas McBoof - Doctor Noize

Artist: Doctor Noize

Album: The Return of Phineas McBoof

Age Range: 5 through 9

Description: As one might surmise from the title, this is the second album from Doctor Noize (AKA Colorado-based Cory Cullinan) featuring the titular music savant who throws it all away at the height of his fame... wait, that's actually kind of the plot of the whole album. The late 2011 album tells the story of how Doctor Noize joined the International Band of Misunderstood Geniuses through a variety of musical genres (hip-hop, soul, opera). It's a fun story and there's a lot of thought and care put into the production. (Also, I kinda want to make "For The Children" required listening for anyone thinking of making music for kids.) You can stream the 63-minute album here; there's also an accompanying book that tells the story in rhyming form. Those of you who are familiar with Doctor Noize's work on Grammaropolis or the first Phineas McBoof album know that the albums throw in everything including the kitchen sink to entertain with the ulterior motive being to educate. The new album is no different -- an amusing story well-told and -sung. Recommended.

Jim Gill Sings The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes (Remastered) - Jim Gill

Artist: Jim Gill

Album: Jim Gill Sings The Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes (Remastered)

Age Range: 2 through 7

Description: The Illinois-based Gill has been making music for families for more twenty years. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of his first album, he's digitally remastered it and added a couple new songs. Gill's called his songs "music play," and it's true that you (regardless of age) are going to get the most out of it if you interact with it -- "Silly Dance Contest" isn't nearly as interesting heard buckled in the car as at home dancing around the family room. Gill's affinity for wordplay ("Old Sock Stew" and one of the new tracks, "Teapot Variations") and physical play ("I Took a Bath In a Washing Machine," "Spaghetti Legs") will appeal to playful families. And while Gill is hardly alone in making music that encourages movement, his songs (and musical arrangements) are among the better ones out there. Stream some samples of the 35-minute recording here. If your family just wants to veg out and listen to well-crafted pop tunes, this is probably not for you, but for some families, libraries, and early education settings, this 20-year old album sounds just as fresh and inviting today. For that set of folks, definitely recommended.

Kepi For Kids - Kepi Ghoulie

Artist: Kepi Ghoulie

Album: Kepi For Kids

Age Range: 2 through 6

Description: Just like his Fun Fun Records bandmates Play Date, the first album from pop-punk rocker Kepi Ghoulie shouldn't scare anybody who thinks that punk rock isn't appropriate for preschoolers. (That's not necessarily true all the time, but that's a separate discussion.) There are some similarities with Caspar Babypants, and it's not just the bald head -- Kepi's album is a mostly acoustic poppier and goofier version of Mr. Ballew's preschool-aged tunes. I prefer the CB stuff, but there are some really good tracks here, most notably the sweet "Moonbeam" and the lovey-dovey country-fried "Days That End In 'Y'," which deserves to be on some dopey romantic comedy (or kid-friendly comedy) soundtrack. I'm pretty sure it'll give your kids (and you) at least a handful of smiles in its 30-minute run-time. Recommended.

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

Imagination - Play Date

Artist: Play Date

Album: Imagination

Age Range: 2 through 6

Description: Don't let the punk backgrounds of Greg Attonito (the Bouncing Souls) and Shanti Wintergate fool you -- the tunes here are, for the most part, very poppy. As I noted in my NPR review of the album, there's a less aggressive sound than on a lot of punk records (and it takes a particularly mellow turn near the end), so if you're looking for a kindie mosh pit and outright rebellion, this might disappoint you. But songs like "Rad" and "I Can Sing" feature a celebration of self-expression, and that's a pretty punk attitude to try to retain as kids grow up. You can listen to the 35-minute album here. Imagination is pop-punk catnip for the preschool set. Recommended.

Bunny in the Moon - DidiPop

Artist: DidiPop

Album: Bunny in the Moon

Age Range: 2 through 6

Description: For her latest album, Los Angeles-based Deborah Poppink AKA DidiPop structured tracks into two parts: 1) calm down!, 2) go to sleeeeeep. The "calm down!" part didn't interest me given its more "do this" bent, but the last track of the four, the samba-inflected "I Love You Mommy" and a lot of the lullabies on tracks 5 through 14 work quite well. The title track and "Snuggles and Books" (featuring a lot of shout-outs to famous bedtime stories) are the standouts. The 37-minute album (listen to it here) has a very personal feel and takes awhile to fully slow down, so it's not perfect for everyone. (I personally like my lullaby albums hushed and rustic.) But it's well-produced and not too goopy. Recommended.

Hola Hello - Mariana Iranzi

Artist: Mariana Iranzi

Album: Hola Hello

Age Range: 2 through 6

Description: Argentina-born and Boston-educated, bassist Iranzi's 2013 album continues her Latin kindie rock career with Hola Hello. The song topics -- the colors of the rainbow, modes of transportation, monkeys unable to stay upon their beds despite repeated warnings from their mother -- stay clearly in the preschool camp. The songs themselves, however, with their mostly (not exclusively) Spanish lyrics and usually laid-back eclectic musical vibe, may also work for a slightly older crowd. (I particularly liked the Bebel Gilberto groove of "Barquito de Papel" and I thought "Arco Iris" was a very good bilingual introduction to colors. Listen to samples here. The kids music market is now swarming with Spanish-language disks. This is one of the better ones, particularly for a more modern, but not still Latin, sound. Recommended.

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