Funny Faces - Michael and the Rockness Monsters

Funny Faces album cover

Artist: Michael and the Rockness Monsters

Album: Funny Faces

Age Range: 4 through 8

Description: For his second Rockness Monsters album, New York musician Michael Napolitano turns up the funny a little bit more.  The standout tracks include the '70s groove leadoff track "Cardboard Cutout Man" and the epic "Squirrel Fight."  (It's like the Thrilla in Manila, except it's about squirrels.)  And while normally I'm not a big skit fan, the concept of "Elevator Song" -- the band's found a great, free rehearsal space, the only bad news is that it's an elevator -- is amusing, and the execution comedically solid.  I admire the commitment to silliness on many of the tracks here, but note that that the approach probably overshadows the less silly tracks like "Together Forever" (featuring Sonia de los Santos) and "Who I Am."  (Napolitano and co-producer Dean Jones play all the instruments, so musically the entire album is tight.)  Fans of the pop-rock goofiness and sweetness Recess Monkey brings will find a lot to enjoy here.  Recommended.

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

Wired - Recess Monkey

Artist: Recess Monkey

Album: Wired

Age Range: 5 through 9

Description: I'll let my NPR review of the album do most of the talking: "With so many opportunities for kids to stare at screens - big and small - it can be work to get them to use their creativity and make things with their own hands... On their new album, Seattle trio Recess Monkey celebrates makers with songs about school dioramas, duct tape and Legos... The band started out with a heavy Beatles influence. But over the course of 11 albums in just nine years, they've also mixed in a bit of a pop punk sound.  Appropriately for an album about playing off of the grid, the band recorded this new album on tape" with John Vanderslice, a musician with whom the band has long been obsessed.  I think there have been other Recess Monkey albums with catchier songs overall and so it wouldn't be the single album I'd recommend to a newbie (there's a tough decision to make), but it's certainly another solid album from the Seattle band.  Definitely recommended.