Hamster Pants - Ratboy Jr.

Hamster Pants album cover

Artist: Ratboy Jr.

Album: Hamster Pants

Age Range: 4 through 7

Description: Different kids musicians have different strengths -- for some it's intricately-crafted musical productions, and for others it's an energetic live show.  For the Hudson Valley duo of Timmy Sutton and Matty Senzatimore, their strength is their loopy attitude, which thoroughly permeates their music.  How thoroughly?  Well, on this, their third album, the song "Sponges" features a chorus -- an incredibly catchy one -- with the lines "Even Billy Ocean / Uses sponges from the ocean."  This is a line that really makes very little sense in the context of the song but is so goofy that it will likely delight listeners of all ages.

Their affinity for improv is heard in other songs like "Littlest Giant" and "Marian the Barbarian Librarian," which are synth-assisted raps that sound off-the-cuff and overloaded lyrically.  While I suspect those songs amuse in concert (try not to shout "Plate Tectonics" along to "Poofy"), on record I think the band shines the most when they polish their ideas into irresistible crunchy pop nuggets, like "Dancing Room."  The band also does the occasional tender song well ("Sleep Like One..." and album closer "Try").

The band brings in guest musicians (including co-producer Dean Jones) here to round out their sound on the 41-minute album.  The goofiness might be too much for the surliest and serious amongst you, but most folks young or old who've ever taken a liking to "Weird Al" Yankovic, They Might Be Giants, and Barenaked Ladies will find much of the music appealing.  Recommended.

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

Let's Boogie - Rock 'n' Rainbow

Artist: Rock 'n' Rainbow

Album: Let's Boogie

Age Range: 3 through 7

Description: File this in the "don't judge a book by its cover" file -- the cacophony of colors on the cover of this album set off all sorts of warning sounds in my head, making me leery that I was in for a cheesy third-rate glam-inspired version of other preschool bands in color-coordinated outfits you may have heard of.

But once I put the CD in my player, I was pleasantly surprised.  The band is the brainchild of Mike Whitla, who runs Rainbow Songs, an early childhood music education program in Toronto, and has released 6 other kids music albums.  He's brought together other Toronto musicians and producer Tor Hyams to give these songs a slick sheen.  Some of the songs ("Hands Together, Hands Apart," "That Is the Right Hand") are clearly intended to be movement-oriented songs -- they're well done, but they're not necessarily unique.  Some songs, however, are pure brilliance, like the album opener "I Like To Ride My Bike," which musically references Queen's song of nearly the same title and then proceeds to out-Queen Queen in its over-the-top production.  The Ramones-referencing "I Can't Fly" and the funky "Five Senses" also transcend their origins -- they're just plain fun.

The best way to listen to songs from the 45-minute album is on Whitla's YouTube channel.  Let's Boogie is energetic and a different spin on a lot of early childhood music education music. For families looking for a slightly glitter-infused take on music for their kindergarteners, this could fill that niche well.  Recommended.

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