Review in Brief: ABC-sides - Uncle Widget

I like deadlines. Be it at work or trying to finish a review, it usually helps me to have a due date, however artificial, staring me in the face. The same principle underlies the RPM Challenge, which challenged musicians to "record an album in 28 days, just because you can." It was a response to the 2007 challenge that led South Carolina musician Bryan Murdaugh to complete his second Uncle Widget CD, ABC-sides. Murdaugh must work well faced with deadlines, too, because there are some pretty good cuts here. The leadoff track "Snack Time" has a nice Jack Johnson-goes-electronica feel while "Tickle Monster" relies on the riff from Golden Smog's "Corvette." The songs' themes will be familiar to any preschooler (or their parents) -- the titles alone ("Why," "Makin' a Mess," "Ready To Grow Up," for example) are a pretty clear indication of the concerns here. One downside of such a quick turnaround time is that there might not be enough time to polish up the songs. Murdaugh plays all the music on the album, including programming the keyboards, drum loops, and occasional bleeps and bloops. (The press release name-checking The Postal Service is dead-on.) Some of the tracks with a more minimalist feel, such as "Ready To Grow Up," work OK, but others, such as "Rockinghorse Cowboy" just sound underproduced. (And the two more obvious message songs on the CD, "I Need To Share" and "I Wanna Help" fall into this latter category, which makes the message harder to endure.) The downside of the RPM Challenge is that it precluded taking another month or two, which could have been used to polish these songs either lyrically or musically. Given the fairly direct topical aim at late-preschool-age kids, the 33-minute CD is most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 6. You can hear samples from all the tracks at the album's CD Baby page or "Makin' a Mess" at Uncle Widget's homepage. [And, for those who care, it currently comes produced on a CD-R. Not a big deal to some, but might be to a few.] While this is by no means a perfect CD, ABC-sides contains some really good songs. A lot of artists would be lucky to write and record that many good songs in a month. Given the opportunity to fine-tune his songs, Bryan Murdaugh's next Uncle Widget CD (the forthcoming Uncle Widget... Goes To First Grade) is probably one worth watching out for.

Review: If You Ever See An Owl - The Terrible Twos

I posted my review of If You Ever See An Owl from The Terrible Twos nearly a year ago. I've had a long time to think about the record, and given that time, I haven't changed my opinion one bit -- it's a fabulous record, a hoot (pun intended) for kids and adults alike. It's getting its long-awaited national release on Vagrant/Poquito Records next week so I thought this was a good time to reprint (and update) my review. ********* The Terrible Twos are a side project once removed. Singer-songwriter Matt Pryor, of the emo band the Get Up Kids, formed the New Amsterdams as a side project with a more alt-country sound. With The Terrible Twos (the New Amsterdams to a man), Pryor has shifted his subject matter back maybe 15 years, targeting the young nieces and nephews of the New Amsterdams fans. And with If You Ever See An Owl, Pryor and his band have crafted an album that will entertain those nieces and nephews along with their parents and aunts and uncles. Melodically, it's reminiscent of alt-country/Americana-pop artists like the Old 97s, Rhett Miller, and early Ryan Adams, with some Death Cab for Cutie and hints of Wilco thrown in for good measure. (Obviously, it's most like the New Amsterdams themselves.) Acoustic rock of tempos both fast and slow, melodies wrapping their way around your brain. The uptempo "When I Get To Eleven," about a boy's acceptance of growing older, makes counting to 11 a lot more fun than it has any right to be. The love song to a little girl named "Vivian" is worthy of lovesick Miller or Adams. And "A Rake, A Broom, A Mop, A Shovel," just like They Might Be Giants' "Violin" turns a very angular song into something enjoyable. Lyrically, the 32-minute album covers ground familiar to many kindergarteners -- math, burping and being polite, the problems of a birthday too close to Christmas ("Caroline, don't worry about birthday time / Don't think that on 22 / There's none for you / It's just not true" on the shiny "Caroline"). It's unclear if Barney was the inspiration for "We Can All Get Along With Dinosaurs," but a purple dinosaur stars in a treacle-free song about tolerance. Elsewhere the lyrics target the parents as much as the kids (the disappearing baby of "The Little Houdini," the kid in the driving "Pizza and Chocolate Milk" who says "Don't try to force me to eat vegetables I hate / You may think I'm kidding / That I won't win / If I keep screaming you'll cave in.") But throughout the album there runs a feeling of love and affection for the subject matter (and kids who serve as the inspiration) that distinguishes the album from many others. Kids aged 4 through 10 are most likely to enjoy the subject matter and the occasionally slow-paced song. The Terrible Twos' e-card lets you listen to "Ladybug," "When I Get To Eleven," and "We Can All Get Along With Dinosaurs," while their Myspace page has "Ladybug" and three more songs. (Oh, and you can listen to samples of all the songs here.) Due to unspecified release issues, the album was for a long time only available at New Amsterdams shows. I can only think of Wilco's troubles in getting their terrific album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot released after getting dropped by their own label. It took a great deal of effort before the album saw the light of day and attracted great praise, perhaps more than it otherwise would have. If You Ever See An Owl deserves not only a release but lots of fanfare to accompany that release, because this is an album that's going to make lots of kids and parents very happy. Now that it has the national release it richly deserves, let the happiness commence. Highly recommended.

DVD/CD Review: Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World

Little Monster Records released Gustafer Yellowgold's Wide Wild World earlier this week. I originally reviewed the DVD nearly a year ago. I've updated the review below -- if you already have the earlier version of the DVD, go to the end of the review for my comments on this new version.

Review: Calling All Kids - CandyBand

One of the downsides to the recent increase in attention paid to kids' music -- what, there are downsides? -- is a proliferation of music that uses kids' songs as jokes, applying traditional songs to non-traditional song forms. The albums aren't so much for the kids as they are for the adults. CandyBand plays punk music for kids and their recently-released fourth album, Calling All Kids is a fine example of why this band rises above the kids-music-as-source-of-amusement genre to make kids' music worth listening to. To begin with, the Detroit-area band actually rocks. Paula Messner (or, er, "Almond Joy") has nifty guitar work throughout the album, particularly on songs like "Simon Says" and the "Eenie Meenie Song." And the rhythm section of Anita Kelly and Tammy Ristau, along with Daniela Burckhardt's vocals, are strong, too. None of which would matter if the songs weren't any fun or any good, but a lot of them are. For the most part, the band is writing its own songs at this point. While there might not be something as great previous CandyBand songs like "Ken Lost His Head" or "Get Up Already," families will definitely have fun with the bouncy "Octopus On My Head" (the chorus of "I've got an octopus on head / It's messing up my hair / It's sleeping in my ear / I've got an octopus on my head / And I hope it won't make breakfast of me" will live your head for a loooong time). "It's Your Birthday" is deservedly destined for many 5-year-old birthday party mix CDs. And the band re-records an older tune, "Monsters," except this time they go all "American Idiot" on us and add strings from the Detroit Symphony Civic Youth Ensembles. Kids ages 3 through 7 will probably enjoy the songs here the most. In true punk fashion, the album is brief, running through its 10 tracks in less than 22 minutes. You can hear the first couple tracks here. CandyBand is a great example of kids' artists who are melding their non-traditional kids' genres to kids' themes and songs in ways that respect kids while providing something for the parents to latch onto as well. If your family sits on the rock side of the pop-rock divide, you'll particularly enjoy Calling All Kids, but even if you don't have the complete Clash and Green Day discography, it's an album worth checking out. Recommended.

Review in Brief: The Broken Record - Twink

Take a toy instrument-obsessed guy, mix in some classic kiddie records, and through in a whole both of sampling technology, and what do you get? Twink. The brainchild of Mike Langlie, Twink is his project for mixing together samples from kiddie records a good half-century old with modern samples and drum loop. Langlie's third Twink album, The Broken Record (2005), showcases the results. Sadly, this is one of those ideas that doesn't sound quite as cool as it sounds, if you know what I mean. In other words, I had high hopes that the recontextualized sounds would result in something eminently listenable, sort of a Odelay for the kids. And, you know, sometimes it works out exactly like that. "Pussy Cat" is a nifty tune, mixing a whole bunch of kitty-related lyrics with a Tin Pan melody on top of a bunch of drum beats. I also liked "Hip Hopera," which as you might expect from the title sets "March of the Toreadors" to a hip-hop beat. But more often than not, the funky mixtures don't hold up so well as songs in repeated listenings. So many different snippets are crammed in that the songs themselves don't hold together well. The spoken-word tracks are not particularly compelling. The tracks are interesting, perhaps, intellectually, and it might be fun to play "spot the snippet" with your kids, but as a listening experience, it's a definited mixed bag. The album is definitely an all-ages affair, but I think younger kids, ages 2 through 6, might enjoy it more so than others. You can hear samples from all of Twink's albums at Langlie's Music page. Langlie's putting together a full band for his upcoming album, so I've got higher hopes for that album. I think it might have some of the consistency between tracks that this album doesn't really have. While The Broken Record shows a very creative mind at work, it doesn't necessarily compel the listener's ongoing attention in the long run.

Review: Freedom In A Box - The Deedle Deedle Dees

I don't know if the New York-based band The Deedle Deedle Dees are the most erudite kids' musicians currently recording, but they certainly wear their erudition on their sleeves more proudly than anyone else. One listen to their 2nd album, the recently-released Freedom In A Box (2007), will make that abundantly clear. Here is a random sample of topics covered and phrases used on the album: sampan ("Is that a boat? It's a Chinese boat!"), aphids, the Niebelungenlied, Teddy Roosevelt's charge up San Juan Hill, and the short arms of a tyrannosaurus rex. And that's just scratching the surface. Led by Lloyd Miller and some fellow NYC-area music teachers, the Deedle Deedle Dees are, as you might suspect from the short list above, a little obsessed with history, and it's the history tracks that initially grab your attention, telling the story of Nellie Bly's trip around the world ("Nellie Bly") and of Teddy Roosevelt's transformation ("Teddy Days"). And if you're not familiar with the band, I know what you're thinking -- that sounds really dry. But you'd be wrong, because what makes these songs different from most kids' history songs is the rollicking and earthy musical approach. The could-be-a-hundred-years-old "Nellie Bly" starts out with a "doodley-doo-wah" singalong that instantly lodges in your head while "Henry Box Brown" tells the compelling story of Brown, who mailed himself to freedom in a box, with "This Side Up!" printed on the side (the "This Side Up!" being another great singalong). "Henry Box Brown" is probably the best of the history songs here. Some listeners may find the lyrics overly precious at points, and the other songs succeed to varying degrees depending on how much they're telling stories (I think the country-rock "Aaron Burr," which retells the story of the Burr-Hamilton duel, is pretty awesome, but "Teddy Days" just tries to cram too much in, lyrically). Some listeners may find the lyrics overly precious at points, Now, the band isn't just obsessed with history, and only about half of the 13 tracks on the 39-minute album are history songs. There are nature songs, for example, including the midtempo folk-poppy "Vegetarian Tyrannosaurus Rex" and "Obedience School," which is just about the most punk kids' song you'll hear all year. There are simpler music/movement songs, too (the very simple "Play Your Hand" or "Drum!"). While the band may mix all the songs together in concert, on the album it doesn't blend perfectly -- it just seems to lurch back and forth. Your thoughts may vary, but I'd've probably ordered the tracks differently. Musically, however, it's all good, with the band taking a mostly Americana/rock approach, throwing in a few curves along the way (the Beck stylings on "Baldy," for example). The band sounds great together and along with their guests the album has an appealing raggedness. (Except on the completely awesome "Major Deegan," a beautiful, slow paean to New York City's traffic -- that fever dream of a song is not like the rest of the CD, but it's a perfect final song.) Given the range of topics here, the album is appropriate for kids ages 2 through 12 (parts of some of the history songs will go over the heads of the youngest listeners, but are boogieable enough and with musical hooks enough for those youngsters to enjoy). You can listen to four full tracks at the band's Myspace page or samples of all the tracks at the album's CDBaby page. When you order the CD, you'll also get a coloring book with lyrics. That book, along with the information found at the band's Blogspot page for the album, serve as a great resource not only for teachers using the CDs, but interested families, too. So here's the deal: if you teach American history in the K-12 system, you need this album. If you're interested in history, you need this album. But if history isn't quite your thing, you still probably need this album, too. Even the songs that don't work out are energetic and fun. It's one of the most ambitious and diverse -- not to mention fun -- kids' CDs of the year. Definitely recommended.