Occasional Yogurt - Mo Phillips

Artist: Mo Phillips

Album: Occasional Yogurt

Age Range: 3 through 8

Description:  Idiosyncratic as ever, Mo Phillips' music on Occasional Yogurt, his fourth family album, fits in perfectly with Portland, Oregon's anything-goes-as-long-as-it's-true-to-you philosophy.

I'd call the music here "ramshackle," but that's a negative connotation I'm not really seeking.  It's rough around the edges, deliberately so, with a crackly sound  that suggests a vinyl record sixty years old.  It kicks off with "Talkin' About Teamwork," a sprightly song featuring guest vocals from fellow Portland musician Aaron Nigel Smith.  I didn't like all of the songs -- now that I've reviewed the album, I don't intend to listen to "The Runner" again -- but that just puts the excellent songs in that much sharper relief.  "Electric (Don't Even Try)" is an outtake from a B-52s album (or should be, at any rate) guaranteed to rev up your kids, and "A Little More Sleep," on which Phillips sings with Little Sue and Lincoln Crockett, is a tender alt-country lullaby/plea for sleep from the parents' perspective.

You can listen to the 44-minute album here.  Fans of Phillips' previous work will lap this up (and I suspect songs like "The Runner" work pretty well live).  While idiosyncratic albums rarely achieve mass popularity, eventually they find their fans -- might your be family be one of them?  You'll never know if you don't try.  Recommended.

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

If I Were An Otter - Alice DiMicele

Artist: Alice DiMicele 

Album: If I Were An Otter: Songs for Kids of All Ages

Age Range: 

Description:  An album for you old-school folk music fans.  DiMicele, who hails from Medford, Oregon (at the state's southern border), has a slightly raspy voice that serves her well when she gets into bluesy/country territory such as on "Honey Bee Blues" and her duet with Vince Herman, "City Mouse/Country Mouse.  DiMicele dips into the folk songbook for well-known tunes as "This Little Light of Mine," "The Garden Song" ("Inch by inch, row by row..."), and "The Monkey and the Engineer."  Her originals are just as positive -- "We Can Be Anything" and "Celebrate the Rain" are as optimistic as their titles.  Amidst all these good vibes, I liked the title track, silly and playful.  The album (funded on Kickstarter, incidentally) will appeal most to kids ages 3 through 7; you can stream the album here.  Families looking for an amped-up 21st century sound, this isn't for you, but if you're looking for an a solid album of Americana-tinged folk music suitable for families of all ages, If I Were An Otter  will probably hit your sweet spot.  Recommended.

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