Review: Anthems for Adventure - Tim and the Space Cadets

Tim Kubart, head of Tim and the Space Cadets, left the kindie band The Jimmies nearly years ago because he wanted to write and perform his own kids music. Along with another Jimmies veteran, Matt Puckett, Kubart released an awesome video and 5-song EP in 2010 and slowly crafted the full-length debut, which gets released next week.

The result, Anthems for Adventure, is a big, sprawling, messy album. I like to think of it as one of those big arena-ready albums you might have heard released in the '70s. There are echoes of Elton John and the Eagles, mellow pop-rock for the kindie set, but there are some more indie sounds as well. ("Bumblebee," for example, could be the shiniest song Clap Your Hands Say Yeah never wrote.) Hand-claps and sing-along choruses (hi, there, "Superhero!"), it's an album whose songs are meant to be heard in concert.

When I say "messy," I don't mean sloppy. I really liked the slow-building arrangement of "Endless Summer," about celebrating summer even in the midst of summer. One of the standouts, "Upbeat/Downbeat," honors its theme of making music with a serious Motown-era groove. And with more than a couple dozen different musicians making an appearance, there's a lot of musical firepower providing a miniature wall of sound. My only warning is that the lyrics are very focused on the kids, celebrating their perspective (see, for example, "Double Knot," an emotional ode to an outsized pair of shoes). Many folks will see this as an good thing -- and who could blame them? -- but if you prefer your kids music to take a more parent-inclusive approach lyrically, this probably isn't your first choice.

The album is most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 8. You can hear some of the tracks at the band's website. Anthems for Adventure might be the most apropos kindie album title of the year as it's filled with songs about explorations large and small, songs to be sung along with. Tim and the Space Cadets wear their corduroy-patched heart on their sleeve; sympathetic adventurers will enjoy this spirited celebration. Recommended.

[Disclosure: I received a copy of this album for possible review.]

Radio Playlist: New Music January 2013

Onward into 2013, and time for a Spotify update for new music (see December playlist here). As always, it's limited in that if an artist hasn't chosen to post a song on Spotify, I can't put it on the list, nor can I feature songs from as-yet-unreleased albums. But next month's playlist is only, er, a month away.

Check out the list here or go right here if you're in Spotify.

**** New Music January 2013 (January Kindie Playlist) ****

Ratboy Jr. – High 5 Your Shadow
Channing Banks – Rock My ABCs
Papa Crow – All the Things That Fart
Oh! Ogopogo! – Pirate Boy's Lament
Breed Street Rookies – In This Together
The Hipwaders – Just Not Me
Rissi Palmer – Best Day Ever
The Bramble Jam – A Dirty Kid's a Happy Kid
Bruce Barnes – Humps, Hooves, and Horns

Reminder: Sign Up for the Newsletter!

I hope I'm not too pushy when it comes to encouraging you to sign up for the Zooglobble newsletter. But I'm prepping the next edition of Z7, and once again I think it's going to be a great way for you to get seven exclusive free downloads from seven artists' new and upcoming albums, albums worth exploring further. (Hence the prominence of the "7." I never said I was subtle.)

Last month I featured the following awesome tracks:

Tumble Down Library - "Bartholomew"

Boxtop Jenkins - "Wag More"

Jennifer Gasoi - "Happy!"

Justin Roberts - "A Wild One"

Helen Austin - "Five Little Things"

SteveSongs - "Song Without a Rhyme"

fleaBITE - "Dogs' Day Out"

I'm busy assembling the January edition now, and it's just as cool, featuring artists new and old. So if you haven't yet signed up for the newsletter, I encourage you to do so. Like, soon.

Video: "Winter Beard" - The Pop Ups

Watching the Pop Ups takin' it to the streets in this new video for a brand new song, "Winter Beard," my overriding thought was:

ONLY. IN. BROOKLYN.

(Lots of fun, though, for a cold winter's day.)

The Pop Ups - "Winter Beard" [YouTube]

Review: Billy Kelly - AGAIN!

The kids music scene is, as a general rule, a good-natured one. Mopey musicians are few and far between and, frankly, get shunned a bit by the rest of the community. Even if you're dealing with serious issues, be it in song or with the world at large, if you don't have a sense of humor -- broad or subtle -- you're not going to last long.

Amidst these humorous folk, only one person can hold the title Funniest Person in Kids Music. Oh, sure, Jack Forman and all of the Recess Monkey fellows are like our own Laugh-In, Lunch Money's Molly Ledford deserves her own East Coast observational comeday version of Portlandia (Columbiandia?), and Doctor Noize's Cory Cullinan still writes the newsletters with most jokes. And let's not forget the Media Division -- Sirius-XM's Mindy Thomas and OWTK.com's Jeff Bogle could co-captain our comedy softball team and we'd definitely hold our own against the musicians. (You hear that, musicians? We'll totally take you on in comedy softball. Whatever that is.)

But let's take a moment to praise Pennsylvania's Billy Kelly, Funniest Person in Kids Music. He's just released his fourth album, AGAIN!, and our favorite writer of odes to milk and boxes is back with odes to bonsai (the Japanese art form using miniature trees), dogs, sweaters, and butter. Seriously, there's a song called "Ode to Butter," all harmonied and everything. Kelly's humor doesn't derive from jokes, it's more absurdist in nature. The title "Don't Tell Me That I Don't Know What I Know (When You Know That You Don't Know What I Know That I Know)" tells you just about everything you need to know about the song (believe it or not, the song gets even more absurd than the title).

On his last two full-lengths, Kelly went from slightly dark and very absurdist to rootsy and mosty earnest. AGAIN! is an attempt to steer between those two extremes; I'd probably put the new album at one-thirds very absurdist / two-thirds mostly earnest, drawing upon a broader range of styles (Hi, Autotune! Hi, Talking Heads!). Trying to pick a favorite song here is difficult -- is it one of the more uplifting songs of the year ("Jigsaw," describing how life is a puzzle that eventually comes into focus) or the very enthusiastic horn-aided "You Made Me a Sock Monkey"? Or maybe it's Kelly's take on ELO's "Mr. Blue Sky," during which one soaring operatic voice sings, "Ohhhh, it's an opera!"

The 32-minute album is most appropriate for ages 5 through 9, but, really you just need to have a sense of humor. AGAIN! is an album that had me smiling throughout much of it, and it's not just because it's funny. It's because Kelly's joy in his song's characters comes through crystal clear. That's what makes these songs so fun. Highly recommended.

Review: Throw a Penny in the Wishing Well - Jennifer Gasoi

I'm glad Canada is back.

Not that they ever left, mind you -- they've always been our cozy yet expansive neighbor to the north -- but in a kids music sense, there's been a resurgence of new artists from the Land of Raffi. Yes, Sharon, Lois & Bram may have a new iOS app, but I'm talking about a generation of musicians who may have grown up listening to them and Raffi, folks like Charlie Hope, Bobs and LoLo, and Splash 'n' Boots, not to mention some even more independent-minded artists like Duplex.

In onse sense, I'm not sure whether to add Jennifer Gasoi to that list, because she started making kids music before any of those newcomers started recording. Her debut album Songs For You came out way back in early 2004. But it took her more than 8 years to release the follow-up, Throw a Penny in the Wishing Well. That might hold the record for the largest delay in the modern kindie era.

Well, eight years is an awfully long time to wait, but... it's a pretty fun album. In an era when a lot of kindie music is more rock (and alterna-rock) than pop, Throw a Penny... is a throwback, a pop album in the old sense of the word. The album shows off Gasoi's singing chops, a crystal-clear voice with just enough warmth to be inviting. From the very start, with songs like "Little Blue Car," "Throw a Penny in the Wishing Well," and "I'm a Bubble," Gasoi writes happy songs for happy kids. In her orchestration and target audience, she's like a jazzier Laurie Berkner (though without the pure hook-writing genius Berkner possesses). Sometimes it all comes off a little too happy -- I would have liked a few more tracks like the atmospheric album closer "Red Balloon" -- but your tastes in that regard may vary.

Gasoi produced the album herself, and despite the presence of more than 20 musicians (including kids), the music is all done with a very light touch -- I would describe it as brushed, not polished, nickel. It's a lot like what I might expect to hear how Dean Jones would produce such an album (that's a compliment). Which isn't to say that it's simple production -- I can't imagine how many musical tracks and loops were in the song "Purple Man," about some dance lessons (don't ask) -- but it never sounds labored.

The 46-minute album will be most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7. You can hear 3 songs from the album here.

Throw a Penny in the Wishing Well is about as happy and sunny as you'd expect from the title. Unless your family strongly prefers their music with more of a rock edge, you'll probably find a lot to enjoy here. (Fans of Laurie Berkner, Charlie Hope, and Laura Doherty, should especially take note.) The album reflects well on Gasoi's efforts in putting the album together, to the extent that I strongly hope we're not waiting 'til Fall 2021 for her next album. Definitely recommended.