Weekly Summary (10/28/13 - 11/3/13)

Itty-Bitty Review: Back in Blue - Imagination Movers

The Imagination Movers were essentially kindie before kindie became cool.  Created in the early 2000s, the Lousiana-based band independently released 3 albums of kids' pop-rock before being recruited by Disney for their eponymous TV show on Playhouse Disney (now Disney Junior).

Their latest album Back in Blue  is released by Disney and features songs from the third season of the TV show, along with unreleased tracks written for the show.  For the most part, the tracks hew closely to the rock-pop formula that served them so well on the show (and live).  Given their origins as music written for the show, the songs have more of an educational/plot-driven feel (not to mention an ever-so-slightly younger age focus and an average sub-2-minute-per-song length).  But the Movers take pride in writing and playing all their own material, and it's clear they haven't sacrificed their love of the rock of their own youth (you'll have to ask the band whether "On Your Marks" is just an homage to Tom Petty's "Don't Do Me Like That"; you won't need to ask at all what "Gotta Get Your Work Done" is an homage to).

The 26-track, 47-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 6.  I preferred their previous album, the post-Disney Rock-O-Matic, to this one, as it felt freer, sillier, and less plot-driven, and if you're not familiar with the band or the show, that might be the better entry point.  (I'm pretty that that album was written after this one.)  But if you liked that album and -- especially -- if you're a fan of the show, then you should try this one, too.  Recommended.

Note: I was provided a copy of the album for possible review. 

A Brand New Feature: iOS App Reviews

I've reviewed a handful of iOS apps over the years here, but I've received and played with enough of them, especially over the past year, that I think it's time I pulled them out into a separate page and dedicated some (occasional) time to them. 

So I've set up a brand new page (accessible through the "Discover Kids Music" drop-down menu on the right-hand side of the page) called iOS Apps (Music & More).  As the name suggests, it'll be a lot about music-based apps, but won't be totally limited to that.  They'll all be kid-friendly, though.

Right now, there's just one review -- of the new app from the Pop Ups and Mibblio called Miss Elephant's Gerald -- but I'm aiming for a weekly review.  Read the introduction to find out more, and if you've got an app you'd like to share, you know where to find me.

Review: Kingdom Animalia - The Short Films

When you receive as many kids music albums -- and press releases -- as I do, you tend to discount claims from newcomers to the kindie world that some album brings something new to the kids music.  (The guaranteed surefire best way to get an experienced kids music reviewer to listen to a kids music album with an unpromising attitude? Have them introduce it to the reviewer with the phrase "Finally, a kids music album the whole family can enjoy.")

So given that I was introduced to Canadian band The Short Films via this April article which suggested that there wasn't a lot of complex kids music out there, this could all have gone very poorly.  But before I dismissed them out of hand, I listened to one of the tracks, "Mr. Wolf," and realized that, whatever the band's familiarity with current kindie music notwithstanding, their album Kingdom Animalia (released a couple weeks ago) could very well offer a distinctive sound.

Calling that song a reworking of the Three Little Pigs story only scratches the surface of its oddity -- Tessa Jennison's powerful and distinctive voice struttingly gives a different perspective on the pig-wolf interaction while husband Russell Jennison and drummer Ryan Dugal create an atmospheric background that perfectly matches the slight sense of unease of the lyrics ("So don't misunderstand them / When they ask you in for tea, / 'Cause they always have a crazing / For a wolf between the teeth").

The entire album has a dream-like effect -- "Pegafox" is about a make-believe animal, for example, the body of a red fox with the wings of a red-tailed hawk.  "The Mysterious Okapi" is the kids song we never knew Portishead had written about an animal almost none of us know.   Even songs about relatively common animals like "Cat," which features a vigorous piano accompaniment from Jennison herself, outlines the (accurately) complex feelings we often have with our pets ("I'm a cumbersome burden who sits at your door / Like a cat who won't stay away, / "Who is eating her way through your shoes and into your heart.").  These are Studied Songs for the Very Young, Raffi as interpreted by Fiona Apple.

The 34-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 9.  (It's an album not so much for dancing as for listening, so it might not work for every audience.)  Besides the single track linked above, you can listen via Spotify.  For the moment, it's a digital-only release, though plans are in the works to have an accompanying book featuring the distinctive artwork made in conjunction with the album.

I can't say that Kingdom Animalia is completely unique-- heck, there's already one excellent album about animals that doesn't employ pop-rock as its musical foundation -- but it is lovely and, at times, mesmerizing.  If you've read this far, then I think you have a pretty good idea if your family will love love love this album.  There's room for all sorts in the kindie world -- Raffi and more -- and I'd like to welcome The Short Films to this world.  Please make 'em feel at home.  Highly recommended.

Review: Desert Island Disc - Recess Monkey

Rather than complaining about Recess Monkey's incredibly high level of productivity and quality as I have multiple times in the past, I thought I'd try to, you know, straight-up review the Seattle band's tenth (!) album for families, the recently-released Desert Island Disc.

Novel, I know.   (Besides, how am I ever going to top this interview?)

As with many Recess Monkey albums, the band's latest album is nominally a concept album, loosely tied around the theme of being stranded on a desert island, the follow-up to their last album, this summer's Deep Sea Diver .  And as with most Recess Monkey albums, following the theme isn't strictly necessary, as the songs stand up well enough without the scaffolding of a theme to prop up interest in their young listeners.

Indeed, if the songs hold together in any particular way, it's more in their sound.  In the orchestrations (from Jherek Bischoff, brother of drummer Korum Bischoff), toned-down retro-rock, and love songs, this is easily their most Beatles-esque album since their little-heard debut Welcome to Monkey Town .  From the shuffle of "Pearls of Wisdom" to the sweeping strings on "Dessert Island" to the gorgeous love song "Long Gone," there are lots of echoes of the Fab Four's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band  (save for the "Getting a Sunburn," for which the band is probably getting lawyered up in anticipation of the inevitable cease-and-desist copyright letter from the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson).  Maybe it's just all the ukulele -- never a bad thing in my book -- but the mellow sound puts more emphasis on Drew Holloway's songwriting.

I don't necessarily hear the band playing many of these calmer songs in concert (notable exception: "Hide and Seek"), but I could see this desert island disk being a popular choice for snowed-in wintry mornings.  And, yes, I said "love songs" -- "Long Gone" and "Smooth Sailing" are sweet songs, as emotional as anything as the band's recorded, packing a wallop.

The 40-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 5 through 9.  As noted above, it's not necessarily as danceable or totally goofy as some of their previously albums, though that's a deliberate choice.  You can stream the whole album here.

One would think that it's difficult for a band to turn out as much great music as Recess Monkey has in the past not-even-a-decade.   I could be stranded on a desert island for that entire period of time and be lucky to write a small fraction of the great songs they've produced over that time.  So let's be thankful that the incredibly productive and focused trio continues to produce wonderful music.  Regardless of Desert Island Disc  actually makes it onto your own family's "desert island disks" collection, it's really good. Highly recommended.

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

Weekly Summary (10/21/13 - 10/27/13)