Circus of Fleas - fleaBITE

Artist: fleaBITE

Album: Circus of Fleas

Age Range: 4 to 8

Description: 21st-century vaudeville from the gently subversive folks behind cult kids-radio favorite Fatcat & Fishface.  (Well, cult in this hemisphere, at least -- F&F are better known in their native New Zealand.)  The concept of fleaBITE is that the songs are performed by, well, a band of fleas, but that pretty just much means the vocals all have a tiny, nasally sheen to them.

When a song about a sheep allergic to grass ("Shelley the Sheep") is one of the least odd tracks on the album, you know your family is in for an odd ride.  Not your typical guitar rock for fleaBITE; instead, echoes of Tin Pan Alley ragtime, samba, '60s organ-drenched pop, and ukulele undergird songs about dogs playing music, a very hungry spider, and the "Poo Tree."  Oh, yeah, there's the instrumental "Tiny Gargle" -- instrumental, I suppose, if you're willing to consider gargling an instrumental track.  There are definitely some tender moments ("Sweetie Pie" and "Ooby Gooby" come to mind), but if your family has had its fill of songs about brushing teeth and being kind to others all the time, this might be the antidote.  Recommended.  (Listen to the album here.)

[Disclosure: I was provided a copy of the album for possible review.]