Listen To This: "Together" - Moona Luna (feat. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo)

Always glad to hear folks from disparate parts of the kindie world coming together, especially when the result is as sunny as "Together," a brand new song from Moona Luna featuring Secret Agent 23 Skidoo.

Sandra Velasquez has written a breezy tune about friendship and getting together (natch).  It's poppier than most Moona Luna music with an '80s synthpop/skiffle vibe, but there's still that hint of Latin pop that underlies everything Moona Luna does. And in the middle, Skidoo raps a fiendishly fast verse.  Worth a spin.

Moona Luna (feat. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo) - "Together" [Bandcamp]

Listen To This (World Premiere): "I Can I Can" - The SqueeGees

It's been awhile since we heard from Los Angeles-based band The Squeegees.  Their first album, Meet the SqueeGees, was the longest introduction ever, as it essentially was released in different forms three different times.

But songwriters Samantha Tobey and Pierre de Reader and their band have a new album recorded, ready to be launched into the world.  It's called Veggie Soup, and I'm happy to present the world premiere of one of the new album's tracks, "I Can I Can."  The track's got a nifty singalong chorus targeted at your favorite 3- or 4-year-old.  Yes, I will be disappointed if there isn't at least one enterprising librarian or preschool teacher who doesn't choose to pair this song with a reading of The Little Engine That Could.

The band is hoping "I Can I Can" can also be translated as "We Can We Can" as they've launched a Kickstarter project to help crowdfund post-recording costs of the album.  (You've got  'til October 8 to join in if you'd like.)

Regardless of that campaign's success, you can enjoy "I Can I Can" right here.

Listen To This: "Craft Night" - The Pop Ups (World Premiere)

Yay for new music from The Pop Ups!  Their new album Appetite for Construction is set to be released a week from today on August 19th and they're rolling out premieres for the songs all over the kindiewebs.

As part of that virtual tour, I get the pleasure today of offering you the world premiere of "Craft Night," the synthesized, dare I say glittery, track celebrating, well, craft nights.  (Stream it via the widget below or go directly here.)  I know that Hall & Oates were great, but how often did you get to make your own flag craft to the strains "Maneater"?  If you like the beautiful things in this song, there's more where that came from (preorder the album on iTunes and Amazon).

Listen To This: Vol. 4 (La Educación) - minimúsica (Various Artists)

I've been a long-time admirer of the fine folks at minimúsica, the young-person's offshoot of Spanish/Catalan label Sonos.  They've previously released 3 albums of first-rate, mostly Spanish-language indie-pop for the kiddos about food, transportation, and animals, and now, after a successful crowd-funding campaign, they've released their fourth album, La Educación.

Even if you're not proficient in Spanish (or Catalan -- L'Educació), I think you can understand the theme of this latest venture -- it's all about education.

Because Spanish is not my second language, I can't vouch for the educational nature of most of the songs, but even the English-speaking among you will recognize the energy of the opening track, Joan Colomo's "A, e, i, o, u" and its follow-up, Christina Rosenvinge's take on "Do, Re, Mi."  There are 3 other tracks in English, though they're not my favorites.  Stream the album below, and if the songs move you, 5 Euros is less than $7 for a download.

Listen To This: Follow Me - Little Miss Ann

Oh, look, it's a new album from Chicago's Little Miss Ann.  It's Follow Me, and although it's officially released May 1, she's put it up for the world to stream.  The album, pushed out into the world courtesy of a Kickstarter campaign, features some sprightly originals like the title track and "Can You Make a Circle?," not to mention the classic "Bushel and a Peck" from Guys and Dolls.  Worth some time to check out.

Little Miss Ann - Follow Me [Bandcamp]

Listen To This: We're a Club in the Woods - Bears and Lions

I've already talked about how Florida's Bears and Lions strode into Kindiefest 2013 and knocked us all over with their slightly anarchic energy.

Well, it's taken nearly a year, but their debut album We're a Club in the Woods can now be streamed so everyone can hear for themselves their gloriously goofy stories about pancakes and dogs and much more.  (Official album release is in mid-May.)

At the very least, give "Pancakes" (the first track) a spin with your kids and tell me at least one of you isn't shouting "PAN-CAKE SWEEP-STAKES" by the end.