Itty-Bitty Review: Cave Baby - The Mudcakes

It's pretty easy to think of one kids music band from Australia, but once you get past the multicolored gents in the Wiggles, naming a second gets a lot harder if you're here in the Northern Hemisphere. But Australian Sherry Rich and American-born partner Rick Plant make the case for The Mudcakes being a perfectly acceptable alternative. The two of them lived in Nashville for a while and unsurprisingly their band's sound has a very rootsy, Americana vibe to it.

Their second album Cave Baby ranges far along the gamut of Americana, from the shuffling train sound of "Baby's Gonna Crawl" to the roots rock of the title track (with excellent guitar work from Plant) even to a little polka on "Please Don't Polka the Baby." Their rendition of "Shortnin' Bread" might just be my favorite on record. The songs (mostly originals from Rich) are mostly geared at ages 2 through 6, but the melodies and arrangements will appeal to a broader range of folks. You can hear samples of tracks from the 40-minute album at its CDBaby page or a few tracks at their Myspace page.

It might not reach the inspired heights of The Bottle Let Me Down or Session Americana's Table Top People Vol. 1 and 2, but Cave Baby will fit the bill for a sweet little set of Americana. Who would've thought the best kids Americana album in recent memory would come out of Australia? Recommended.