The kids music genre these days does a great job with music for the under-8 set, but for the most part abandons the tweens to the vagaries of older siblings and Radio Disney. Where are the albums for kids too old for Laurie Berkner but not ready for Lady Gaga?
This year's best album for that age group is the latest record from the Bay Area band
The Hipwaders. It's called
The Golden State, and as you might guess from the title, it's a big, sunny power-pop embrace of their homestate, from the Beach Boys-like melodies on several tracks to paeans to life in California (see: "Come To California," "Slow Children at Play"). There are enough hooks here to outfit a pirate convention -- the driving "Hey, Josie!" might just be even more catchy than "Educated Kid" (and my fealty to that song is
long-established), while "My Dog Steve" features an insanely catchy chorus that gets even catchier once the "na-na-nas" are thrown in. The trio sounds as good as they ever have.
As for the part about the album being for tweens, that's more of a lyrical thing (though the power chords may also have something to do with it). On the angular "The Wrong Thing," the song's narrator is
trying to make better choices: "They say you can’t grow without mistakes / Do they have to count every one I make? / I want to fly I want to soar / I don’t want to keep messing up anymore." "The Ramble," although it's about Central Park's Ramble, celebrates exploring the outdoors and could easily be about the California coast. The band also reworks one of their older tunes, "Stand Up to the Bully" with a ska beat. And while I've always thought the band focused more on boy protagonists (heck, there's a song called "So, You're a Boy") on here, "Go Go Girl" gives a "single-digit" aged girl just as much enthusiasm as any of guitarist/songwriter Tito Uquillas' other protagonists.
The album is most appropriate for kids ages 6 through 11. You can listen to samples from the album
here. A special shout-out to the album art from
Brian Clarke -- simple packaging, but elegantly done.
The back cover of
The Golden State features a boy in profile, skateboard in hand, overlooking a verdant valley and lake. It's the portrait of a kid on the verge of exploring the outside world, just like some of the characters in and many of the listeners to the album. It's the same kid who might just be inspired to pick up a guitar after listening to the album. The Hipwaders' best album to date,
Golden State isn't just a great album for the tweens in your life, it's a great album, period. Highly recommended.
[Disclosure: I received a copy of the album for possible review.]
There are two reasons why I wanted to highlight a recent article from Seattle Met magazine. One is pure, selfish, hey, lookit me! Quoted in print. Yeah, yeah, whatever, you don't care about that.
More importantly than that little bit of vanity is the fact that the Kindiependent collective in Seattle, beyond the energy and coordination benefits it provides to its members, merely by existing provides another hook for someone to write about them. And the article itself goes a little deeper (or at least gives more details about the individual artists) than the typical "they make music for kids?!?" article. Worth a read if you're not familiar with the Seattle kindie scene (which really is awesome), or even if you are and think that your own area might merit similar coverage -- check it out here.
The 2011 edition of 
