Review: Hey You Kids! - The Jellydots

This band will change your life.

Not to get all Natalie Portman on you, but like the Shins, the Austin-based band The Jellydots might just change a few families' lives, or at least their opinions on what kids' music can be.

I pick the Shins as a reference point deliberately because it was their skewed pop I kept thinking of while I listened to the Jellydots' first nationally-distributed CD, Hey You Kids!. The simple pop of the title track, a melding of delicate guitar work and percussion work sounds like the spare pop on the Shins' Oh Inverted World! CD while "I'm Not Ugly (You're Not Either)" has a propulsive melody and beat that sounds like "Fighting in a Sack" off Chutes Too Narrow.

Not all of the tracks have such a Shins vibe. The opening track "Bicycle" is a great power-pop tune that the Shins (or a hundred power-pop bands) would love to have written, while "Lake Rules" has a reggae beat and accompaniment reminiscent of Elvis Costello's "Watching The Detectives."

Lyrically the CD speaks straight to kids. The lyrics deal with subjects like bicycles, choosing to be positive, and self-esteem. I particularly appreciated the lyrics on "Quite Naturally" ("Yesterday I saw an ad on my TV screen / And all the people on the screen / Looked so happy to me / It seemed like they were living in a special fantasy / Where money, fun, and happiness all grow on plastic trees.") Over an entire album these messages of uplift might become repetitive were it not for the fact that they're wrapped in such sweet bonbons of melody. Parents aren't entirely ignored -- the best song on the disk is tucked near the end, the slow and beautiful "Captain Sleep," a nearly perfectly-constructed song which kids might be OK with but will resonate with the parents.

The 41-minute album will be especially appreciated by kids ages 4 through 9, but the melodies will be enjoyed by those much older, too. You can hear samples of all the tracks at the album's CDBaby page or hear a few cuts at the band's Myspace page. The album will very soon be released in a physical format, but if you can't wait, you can order it now from iTunes.

Essentially a "Greatest Hits" collection of songs from albums previously only released in Austin, Hey You Kids! is a fine showcase for Doug Snyder's abundant songwriting skills and voice and the adept musicianship of the trio. If you have any affinity for power-pop and indie-pop, you need to check out this album. It's too good to let Austin have all the fun. It may not change your life, but it's definitely recommended.

7 Down. Band I Like A Lot With New Song Stream. Five Letters, Starts With 'S'. Anyone?

I can't decide -- is it Spoon or the Shins?

Spoon's "The Book I Write" is from the upcoming movie Stranger Than Fiction while the Shins' "Phantom Limb" is from their upcoming January Sub Pop release, Wincing the Night Away. Both songs are pleasant enough, though not an immediate favorite on initial listen. (Still doesn't mean I won't be getting Wincing on album release day, January 23.)

Who got 10 Across?

Name a family-friendly Spoon or Shins song. Go.

I vote for the Shins' "Turn A Square". I think Bill's played Spoon's "Lines in the Suit," which isn't so bad a choice, either. (It's an awesome song.)

Review: Tummy Talk - Mr. Richard

dyspeptic, adj., or, causing, or having dyspepsia (impaired digestion; indigestion).

How you respond to Tummy Talk, the 2nd album from Florida-based musician Mr. Richard (originally released in 2005 and recently re-released on New Orleans' 219 Records) might depend on your reaction to that word.

The good? "Dyspeptic" is a complex word to use in a kids' song, and broadening kids' vocabulary is, we can all agree, a Good Thing.

The bad? Well, Mr. Richard (Richard Peeples) does stretch things lyrically in order to fit the word in (appropriately) on the title track.

Throughout this CD, produced by the Squirrel Nut Zippers' Jimbo Mathus along with Will Dawson, Mr. Richard doesn't dumb down his vocabulary or his music. The title track is a funky rocker, "Stinkeroo!" has a very Southern rock-vibe (minus the two drummers, sadly), and "Cry Baby" is a nice bluesy number. I also enjoyed the echoey voice and finger-snaps of "Buddy the Back-Alley Cat." Musically, the lo-fi production serves the songs well -- there are some very appealing melodies here played by a real band with the occasional banjo and accordion thrown in for good measure.

Lyrically, well, the CD didn't appeal to me as much, in part because it seemed some of the square rhymes were forced into the round hole of meter. And in some cases, the parental frustration of some of the tracks ("Milking It," "The 'Please-Don't-Tell-Me-You're-Gonna-Wear-That-Super-Hero-Costume-Again' Blues") struck me like it would go over way over the head of the younger listeners. It seemed like those songs (which were amusing to me as a parent) were from a completely different album than that the one that included "Buddy the Back-Alley Cat."

Kids ages 4 through 7 are most likely to enjoy the songs here, for which you can hear samples at the album's CDBaby page.

While some listeners will probably find not much new in Tummy Talk, others will certainly find the album a collection of fun, bluesy homemade rockers. At the very least, you won't find yourself dyspeptic listening to it.

Please Release Me: November (and December) 2006 Releases

As we slide into November and December, the number of new releases is typically scaled back because there's, like, a bajillion different things going on. Setting aside the daylight-to-task ratio, which is at its lowest point of the year, who wants to compete against the hundreds, nay, thousands of Christmas-related CDs flooding the market? ("On the first day of Christmas / My auntie gave to me / A Christmas album from Kenny G.")

Having said that, there are a few releases coming out here over the next couple months:

Nov. 7: All Together Now - V/A (a Beatles covers album with a kids' chorus)
Nov. 14: Play! - Milkshake
Nov. 14: We Wanna Rock - Thaddeus Rex
Nov. ??: Hey You Kids! - The Jellydots
Dec. 5: Asian Dreamland - V/A (Putumayo)
Dec. ??: Ernie & Neal - Rock the House

Which of these should be on your gift list for the winter-based gift-giving holiday of your choice (or on the purchase list of your favorite local library)? Tune in... find out...

Where Is Montana?

Miley Cyrus, via her Disney Channel alter-ego, Hannah Montana, hit #1 on the Billboard charts this week, beating debuts from My Chemical Romance and John Legend.

My kids are almost as far away from the MCR and John Legend demographics as they are from the Hannah Montana-demographic. The eldest has a ways to go before reaching her tween-age years and -- much more importantly -- we don't have cable.

But what was the normally-on-the-ball Idolator doing being surprised by Cyrus grabbing the top spot? I'm only an indie-hipster-pretender (I haven't even attempted to download the leaked Shins CD, that's how far out of the loop I am), but I coulda told you that Disney Channel + tweens + a $10 CD/DVD = lots of allowance money changing hands.

C'mon, Idolator, you said it yourself later in the story -- "The soundtrack is the fourth Disney-produced record this year to debut in the top 10." That should've been your first clue.