Review: My Neighborhood - Johnny Bregar

In every reviewer's career, there are the artists you find, follow devotedly, and wonder why the rest of the world isn't quite as enamored as you.

Exhibit A, for me, I think, is Seattle's Johnny Bregar.  I thought his first three albums Stomp Yer Feet!, Hootenanny, and Dragonfly were on par with any recent three-album set from just about any artist you'd care to name.  While they were received positively, with radio airplay and cuts on a couple of Putumayo Kids albums, he hadn't received the attention that his peers (Justin Roberts, TMBG, Elizabeth Mitchell, a few others) had.

And then, 3 1/2 years of silence.  Much of that silence is because Bregar has been struggling to find his singing voice (literally).  And while that condition isn't fully resolved, Bregar has finally released his fourth album for kids, My Neighborhood.  For fans of the first three albums, it is good to hear Bregar's voice once more.

While I don't think Bregar's included too many more guest artists than on Dragonfly, he brought enough guests to his Bainbridge Island studio to make his rootsy Americana with a hint of bluegrass seem like a small party.  There's a mellow, soulful vibe to the album's best tracks, even a bit of wistfulness at points.  The title track recounts a stroll through the narrator's neighborhood, evocative of Mr. Rogers if he'd had a chance to listen to some Jack Johnson.  The next track "Weekend" evokes the best of the Counting Crows sonically in service of praising the fun of Saturdays and Sundays.

While Bregar still invites some younger kids to sing along (as on the uber-confident rocker "Yes I Can"), he's mostly moved on from the preschool songs he originally made his name on.  (I will admit to being tickled pink that Bregar, who I once called "the next Raffi," includes a simple, sing-along version of the Raffi classic, "You'll Sing a Song".)  Bregar's playing (and that of his guests) is unfussy, but there are some nifty instrumental turns.  I will admit to skipping forward past "Pancho," but the vast majority of the songs stand up to repeated spins.

The songs here are most appropriate for kids ages 4 through 9.  You can listen to selected tracks by going here and clicking on the "Listen Now" button.

I've laid it out as best I can without coming over to your house or minivan and commandeering the CD player or iPod and making you and your kids listen.  My Neighborhood is what we expect good kids music to be these days -- musically rich, thematically diverse, and (for older kids, anyway) lyrically sophisticated.  Please please please try it.  Highly recommended.

Itty-Bitty Review: Hot Dog! - Caspar Babypants

Hot Dog! album coverThere is no stopping Caspar Babypants.  He released my favorite kids album of 2011, Sing Along! (review), in August 2011, and his next album is due out in September 2012.

An album out once a year would reflect a pretty creative clip as it is, but that's too slow for Mr. Babypants -- AKA Chris Ballew -- as next week his new album Hot Dog! is released.  How's a new album every 6 months or so work for you?

It works for Ballew.  There's no sign that he's cranking out subpar music, trading on his good name for a quick buck or two -- just the opposite, in fact.  He's tapped into some super-creative vein, a modern-day folksinger amplified with a home studio with a whole host of instruments and mixing programs.  With Laurie Berkner taking multiple years between album releases, Ballew has taken over the mantle of Preschool-Songwriter-In-Chief.

Ballew's equally adept at reconfiguring traditional folksongs ("This Old Whale," a take on "This Old Man") and writing new ones ("All That I Have Got").  He'll mix in the occasional story song ("Eleanor the Elegant Elephant") and pure kid-friendly pop (the funky "Stompy the Bear" and the light-as-a-feather "I Don't Mind").  And while Ballew is responsible for most of the music here and offers a clean, minimal sound, he puts the occasional guest artist (Visqueen's Rachel Flotard, for example, on "More Moles") to good use.

The 49-minute album will be most appreciated by kids ages 1-6, but as with most Caspar Babypants albums, you'll probably listen unabashedly even if they're not around.  With Hot Dog!, Chris Ballew continues his streak of fabulous songwriting for kids.  I, for one, am glad I'll only need to wait another five months or so to hear more Caspar Babypants music.  Highly recommended.

Video: "Lemonade" - Recess Monkey

In Tents album coverRecess Monkey's new circus-themed album In Tents is out on June 19, and they're really gearing up the promotional process.  Last week brought the video for "The Dancin' Bear," and this week's it's a video for the zippity-doodah sound of "Lemonade" (not to mention a preview copy of the album in my mailbox). Besides featuring some highfalutin' words like "dehydration" and "upsell," it also features lemon puppets with googly eyes.  I'm pretty sure you can never go wrong with lemon puppets with googly eyes.

Recess Monkey - "Lemonade" [YouTube]

Listen To This: "Why Is Dad So Mad?" - The Board of Education

It has been Way. Too. Long. since we've heard new music from Seattle's literate kid-rockers The Board of Education, but we can now rejoice in this, a new song.

Titled "Why Is Dad So Mad?," it's a frantic rocker dealing with Star Wars, George Lucas, and a narrator who seems fated to blow up Skywalker Ranch one day, if I understand the song and my Star Wars mythology properly. Definitely honors both the kids' and parents' perspective. Stream it via the widget below (and, if you'd like, purchase for just a buck).

(Alternately, you can stream or download for free here.)

(And, really, while you're at it, go ahead and stream -- and/or buy -- TBOE's awesome debut album.)

Video: "I've Got a Goat" - The Not-Its

Not much in the way of videos for awhile, and now they come in clumps. First Recess Monkey with a sentimental video, now their Seattle Kindiependent buddies The Not-Its release a video for "I've Got a Goat" off their fine Tag, You're It! album. (And I'll have another one for ya tomorrow.)

If you ever needed to see animated animals give their own "devil horns" rock salute, you're in luck. Also: I think if Laurie Berkner ever wanted to cover a song written by a fellow kindie artist, she could much, much worse than picking this one.

The Not-Its - "I've Got a Goat" [YouTube]