Review: KidQuake - The Not-Its!

On the fourth album KidQuake, Seattle's Not-Its have ​settled nicely into their kid-pop-punk groove.  Of course, "settling nicely" implies that perhaps this is a more relaxed and down-tempo album than its predecessors and that would be a total lie because this is one of the worst just-before-bedtime albums ever.

It starts out with the title track, which praises kids' energy (and hopes to channel it into changing the world), then moves on to the even higher-energy "Let's Skateboard" (if you, like me, listen to the song and wonder what a "stalefish" is, here's your answer).​  And then there's "Busy," which alternately celebrates the busy lifestyle (lots of "go's" and horns) while sonically suggesting that we're just all a little too busy.  Band guitarist Danny Adamson sometimes jokes about new Not-Its songs "melting faces off," but this is definitely music to bounce to, with Sarah Shannon's vocal range another key component of the song's allure.

​The band's lyrics and subjects have always been targeted right at young elementary schools, and over time I think they've improved their ability to write from the kids' perspective without talking down to them.  Songs like "Participation Trophy" ("Second Grade basketball: 9th place! / Participation Trophy") and "Tarantula Funeral" ("Bob, we didn't know you very well / We never could tell just what you were thinking") serve as good counterpoints to the more eager/irony-free songs like "Walk or Ride."

The 28-minute album is most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 9.  ​You can stream the whole album here.  As always, the band's album packaging (once again courtesy of Don Clark) is visually distinctive, a nice complement to their tutu-ed and black-tied performance outfits.

From their debut album, the Not-Its have not made any great stylistic leaps, but rather have refined it.  There's something to said for the methodic steps the band's taken, because KidQuake​ is their best album yet, a blast of fresh air, and a ton of fun. ​ Highly recommended.  (Except for right before bedtime.)

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

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.]

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.

Review: Middle of Nowhere - Elska

Straight from the island of Elska, it's, er... Elska!

OK, that's merely the fanciful conceit of New York musician Shelley Wollert, who created the persona of Elska, a "modern pioneer who discovered a newly formed volcanic island off the coast of Iceland."

On her debut album Middle of Nowhere, Elska creates a sound which can be described as many things, but near the top of the list is "unique."  Not necessarily when looked at music from all genres targeted at all ages, but certainly in the kindiesphere.  It's a collection of tiny beats, samples, that, thanks to the purported Icelandic background, means that I am contractually required to say that it sounds a bit like Bjork.

In a kids music scene that very often starts and ends with guitars, the near if not total absence of those on the album by itself can be a bresh of fresh air.  The beats are unique (is that a drill on "Arctic Fox"?), though generally they're employed in the service of modern pop songs whose structure will be familiar to most.  There are some delightfully odd detours, like "Hiddi Hiddi," which, though I think has words, is essentially vocal beat-making.  Elska has a handful of different vocal approaches (e.g., clear, whispery) that provide variety in that regard.  So, sonically, the music from Wollert and producer Allen Farmelo is very solid.

Where Elska may not be for every family depends on the family's tolerance for anything that smacks of preciousness.  According to her website, Elska's catchphrase is "Totally Amazing!," and she carries through that committed attitude on her videos, in concert, and on the album.  She commits to that persona in a way that may be just a little too... much for some parents.  (I think kids will generally respond more favorably than their parents.)

But since I'm the one writing this review, I'll say that I am generally though not virulently anti-preciousness and I think the songs land way more often on the safe side of that dividing line.  "Frozen in Time," for example, is a beautiful song about some things changing and some things being permanent.  It's not terribly complicated or even profound, but there's a sure touch with it.  And unlike some things that have some preciousness attached to them, it's not a stuffy album (see "Hiddi Hiddi," or the fact that on "Don't Make Fun of the Goobler," she calls the Goobler, her "home slice").

On the other hand, I could see some folks rolling their eyes at "The Land of Lost Socks," which is, well, I think you can figure out what it's about.  And as an overarching conceit, the "story" of Elska's island isn't really developed much; the songs just offer the briefest of sketches of characters and locations.  The brief (27-minute) album will have greatest appeal to kids ages 3 through 7.

Middle of Nowhere will, for a variety of reasons, not resonate with every family.  But I think a lot of modern pop families will be charmed in some way by Elska's debut disk.  As she explores it further and refines her singular voice, I think she's going to be an artist to follow.  Definitely recommended.

Review: Rabbit Days and Dumplings - Elena Moon Park & Friends

It would be hard for me to review this album without establishing my affinities up front:

1.  I Kickstarted this album.

2.  Our son (AKA Little Boy Blue) was born in Asia (and adopted into our family as an infant).

3.  Dan Zanes has provided a healthy part of our family soundtrack over the past 10+ years.

4.  I love kimchi.

OK, now that we have that out of the way, is it any surprise that I am very charmed by Rabbit Days and Dumplings, the first album from Elena Moon Park?  (No, it shouldn't be.)  Park, the fiddler and instrumentalist from Dan Zanes' band, has taken music from her own Korean (by way of Tennessee) heritage, mixed it with other Asian family-friendly songs, and given the songs a Zanesian flair.  The result is exactly what you'd expect -- songs from a very different culture made accessible to an English-speaking, Western audience and just as importantly, made fun as well.

There are lots of singalong chorsus on the album, starting with the album opener, "Sol Nal."  Park doesn't attempt to provide lyrics for each song in her liner notes; rather, for many songs, she picks out a single phrase as the hook.  So, for "Sol Nal," it's "Sol Nal / Sol Nal / Sol Nal Un Cho Ah Yo," which she translates as 
"New Year / New Year / I like New Year's."  Or, for the train-inspired bluegrass-y "Diu Diu Deng," singing along with "Diu! Diu!," the sound of raindrops is enough.  Language is fluid in the songs, with Park and the other vocalists flowing in and out of the native tongue of each song and English.

Just as with the lyrics, where Park clearly tried to honor the original song and language but didn't feel like she had to sing every word in that original language, the arrangements have been blended into new, often Western forms.  For example, for the Japanese fishing song "Soran Bushi," Park turns it into a rousing sea shanty, "envisioning groups of men on boats singing it," as she puts it in the liner notes.  ("A Dokkoisho!," or "heave, ho!," could be your family's next motivating call.)  The Chinese song "Diu Shou Juan" is performed in New Orleans brass band style.  And as with every Dan Zanes album, Park has recruited a kajillion different musicians (the Kronos Quartet and Wu Man among them) to play along, often letting them take the lead.

With the (partial) language barrier, age is less of an issue with this album than others, but the subjects are often most appropriate for kids ages 3 through 7.  As you would expect from the folks at Festival Five, the album packaging is first-rate, but regardless of whether you get the physical copy or order mp3s, you can also download full lyrics, translations, and chords at the album's Songs page.  Listen to a sampler of songs here.

I'm clearly biased, but I think Rabbit Days and Dumplings is a great album.  If you're put off by the description of it as folk and children's music from East Asia, I encourage you to give it a chance, as you'll discover a set of songs from that, in these renditions, are very accessible to Western ears, and even voices.  Elena Moon Park have put together a remarkable album here, one that deserves a larger audience than it might otherwise be consigned to.  Highly recommended.