There's no secret formula to the success of rising kindie stars Sugar Free Allstars -- the Oklahoma band's high-energy live shows get kids dancing and tire them out. (It's the musical version of a long post-dinner swim.)
And while their first two kids' albums had moments of groove, neither one fully captured that live energy. With their third album All on a Sunday Afternoon, however, the duo of Chris Wiser and Rob "Dr. Rock" Martin gets a lot closer to putting on disk (or bits) what gets kids hopping around.
The album kicks off (appropriately) with "Gotta Get Up," a groovy wake-up song featuring Jack Forman from Recess Monkey and Shawana Kemp from Shine and the Moonbeams adding vocals. While SFA's kids songs are very much kid-focused in their subject areas (this time around there are songs about hiccups, putting away toys, and teddy bears), there is more diversity thematically ("Love Train" features Keller Williams and is as much praise of soul music over the past few decades as anything). And bringing in some additional instruments, like horns ("Very Best Friend," for example) or strings (the epic slow-jam "Ready To Give Up Teddy") really rounds out the duo's funky sound.
The 36-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7. The physical copy of the album also comes with a live concert roughly 40 minutes in length which, though simple, features songs from all their albums and does a good job of capturing that live energy I mentioned above. You can stream the album through the widget below.
The Sugar Free Allstars don't reinvent the wheel on All on a Sunday Afternoon, they just trick out the ride a bit. It's danceable and goes down smoothly. Works for me and probably for you, too. Recommended.
Note: I received a copy of the album for possible review.
