“Hey, this is awesome—you should buy it.” –me, below

King Pajama.  Something Sweet.  2009.

I have a confession:  I’ve been trying to write this review for a month.  It’s come to an ultimatum, in the form of, “You will not write any other reviews until this one is finished.”  I’ve got a bit of a pileup going now.

Now, before you go thinking that I’ve spent the past month trying to find enough good things to say about it, that is not the problem.  I’ve listened to the album in the car many times.  I’ve listened to it at home, with and without headphones.  I listened to it in the office yesterday.  I’m listening to it now.  But I just can’t seem to find the right way to express how I feel about the album.  I mean, I could say “Hey, this is awesome—you should buy it,” but that’s not saying nearly enough.

Something Sweet is stylistically varied, but hovers around the jazz/bluesy corner of the spectrum.  These unique songs owe their success to three factors:  strong, piano-centered instrumentation; Nina Zeitlin’s rich and melodically-complex vocals; and lyrics that put a surprisingly fun spin on ordinary topics like food and clothing.  Each of the ten tracks on the 30-minute album is consistently engaging and worthy of repeated listening.

Highlights:

• “Some Pieces” – I love how the characters learn about themselves.  Pluto gets a note taped on his door about the declassification.  Tomato’s doctor tells her she’s a fruit.  Platypus’s bird friends talk behind her back about how she’s a mammal, poor girl.  It’s not a sad song though; it’s matter-of-fact.  Because that’s life: “There’s an exception for every single rule/ and some pieces just don’t seem to fit.”
• “Time Goes” – A sweet and moving song about the passage of time.  I can picture myself singing it to the girls from the doorway of their room as they fall asleep, the way my mom would sing “Edelweiss” or some other song from The Sound of Music to me.  Er, I could see that happening if I could sing, that is. ^[1]
• “What’s Going On?” – This says it all:
  

  “In New Orleans I met a Shetland pony
  Brought him home and he ate my bologna
  Other lunch meats started disappearing
  But in the end I think I found him endearing”

N.B.  I’m not the only one who thinks highly of Something Sweet.  The album earned a Parents’ Choice Award, and wound up on both the Time Out New York Kids and NPR best of 2009 lists.  Find out more at the King Pajama website.

Other reviews:
Boston Children’s Music | Out with the Kids

^[1]  Or, maybe it could be my “Toora Loora Loora.”  As my grandfather did, I could take my future grandchildren into my lap after they’ve been in the car for 8 hours, and sing it over and over until their backsides are numb!  Point is, it’s a potential heirloom song.

Disclosure:  Review copy provided by King Pajama.  They have neither paid nor pressured me to speak well of it.

[ Posted in » Music Review Channel ]