Review by Ali

I would venture to say that The Alphabeticians are Grady’s favorite band.   Their previous album, “Rock,” is on heavy rotation in our household, and it is not uncommon to hear Grady belting “Hi we’re Alpha-ticians, means we’re Alpha-ticians” from his room when he’s supposed to be sleeping.  (He’s not yet achieved 100% accuracy on the lyrics….)

Well, like “Rock” before it, the Alphabeticians’ latest album “Junior” has quickly become a staple in our library, with frequent requests for “Alpha-ticians, new ones?” – requests for which this mom is all too happy to oblige!

Of course, being an Alphabeticians album, there are a few alphabet songs, and letters and spelling are sprinkled throughout many of the others.  One example of this is Grady’s favorite song, “Elephant.”  “Elephant” is supremely catchy, and like all Alphabeticians songs, the lyrics are clever and at times irreverent (although perhaps not quite so irreverent as “I Farted”).  “Everywhere in this town you see elephants./ Brown round mound on the ground,/ that’s their excrement./ E – L – E – P – H – A – N – T/ that spells elephant.”  Other highlights of this song include elephant trumpet noises and a chorus of local boys and girls from the Alphabeticians’ shows around town shouting “Elephant” at the end.

Another favorite is “Toast,” which gleefully outlines what happens when various things get hot.  Usually the result is not so good but, and I don’t want to spoil the ending here, something a little different happens when bread gets hot.

And perhaps many Dads can relate to the obviously Dad-written song “Waiting for Mom to Come Home” – “We took a long nap after playing all morning/ Hung out with daddy until he got boring/ In fact, at this moment he’s on the couch snoring,/ And we’re waiting for mom to get home.”

Junior is eclectic – at various times we get barbershop, traditional folk, bluegrass, rock, and even techno!  However the overall feel is cohesive.  This is thanks to “Junior’s” catchy tunes, energy, funny lyrics, and sense of camaraderie between Mr. E and Mr. Hoo. For anyone who has seen The Alphabeticians live, you can see the easy back-and-forth and effortless humor between Mr. E and Mr. Hoo.  Wonderfully, this easy repartee comes through strongly in the album as well.

“Junior” is a must-have in any self-respecting kindie rocker’s library.  The album comes out in June, but you can preview it here for free, or download it for $8.  Your kids will thank you, and you’ll have fun too!