Courtesy: Waldmania PR
Seattle, Washington based children’s entertainment trio Recess Monkey will release its latest full length studio effort this Summer. The band’s new album, Wired, is currently scheduled to be released on Tuesday, June 17th. The album, the band’s eleventh full length studio effort, is yet another fun musical ride for the band’s audiences. It’s a great album for parents taking their kids around town while they run errands. One reason for that is the songs’ run time. The album as a whole comes in at a little more than forty-minutes (forty-two minutes to be exact). The songs’ lengths are important to the record as they are just the right length to keep young listeners’ attention. Just as important to the album are the lyrical themes. And last but not least, the band has carried over the poppy, mid-tempo vibe of its previous albums into this record. That’s something that audiences more familiar with Recess Monkey’s body of work will most definitely appreciate. That familiar feel works in tandem with the songs ‘ lyrical themes and their relatively short run times to make Wired yet another enjoyable release from Recess Monkey.
The first thing that audiences will take away from Wired is that the run time of its songs will easily keep young listeners engaged. The album’s fifteen tracks bring the album’s total run time to roughly forty-two minutes. The longest song on the album, ‘Duct Tape World’ comes in just below the 3:30 mark. The shortest of the albums’ songs—the album’s title track–comes in at 2:03. Recess Monkey’s music has generally tended to be aimed toward kids up to ten years old. The attention span of a child that age is more than that of younger children. But it is still relatively short by comparison to that of older audiences. So coming from an observational vantage point, the run times on the album’s songs is just right once again for those key audiences.
The total run time of Recess Monkey’s new album is one of the cornerstones of Wired’s success. The band keeps the attention of young ears thanks to the relatively short run time of each of the album’s songs. Another cornerstone of the album’s success is its collective lyrical themes. While the album’s title and artwork project one image, the album’s title track is anything but a reflection of the title and artwork. The album’s title song centers on a young person that is literally wired on a sugar high. The band—Drew Holloway (vocals, guitar), Jack Forman (bass, keyboards), and Korum Bischoff (drums)—does a great job musically reflecting the energy of a child on a sugar high with the song’s lyrics and frenetic energy. Holloway sings right off the top, “You know I’m feelin’ so wired/I’m so inspired/My feet are on fire/Wired/I’m scalin’ the walls/And my feet climibin’ higher/Nothin’s gonna slow me down/Ate three bowls of them sugar squares/And do you wanna make the bed/I could carry the car to school/And not even break a sweat/I’m all hyper/Busy twitching/From the day.” Even Holloway’s own delivery conjures thoughts of a child on a massive sugar high as he sings.
Another example of how the lyrical themes on this album make it so fun comes in the form of ‘Grandpa is a Time Machine.’ This song tells the story of a child listening to the stories told by his or her grandfather about when he was younger. Just as is the case with ‘Wired,’ the band just as wonderfully mirrors the feeling that is felt by a child in this case. What person doesn’t recall being excited hearing stories from his or her grandfather when he or she was just a child? There is a certain charm about the stories being shared. And the band captures that excitement through the song’s up-tempo musical side. Holloway sings about his subject bringing his or her grandfather some iced tea and listening to him go back in time, sharing his stories as he sits in his favorite chair. Any parent listening to this song is certain to be taken back to that grand time himself or herself. In turn, said parents will find themselves enjoying this song as much as their children.
The poppy, up-tempo feel of ‘My Grandpa is a Time Machine’ and ‘Wired’ isn’t relegated to just those two songs. It is evident in both the songs in question and the other thirteen songs that make up Wired. That positive vibe is something that fans more familiar with Recess Monkey’s music will appreciate. That’s because all of the band’s previous releases carry that same poppy, up-tempo feeling. It’s the last factor to consider in examining this record and what makes it so fun. At the same time that that familiar feel is present throughout the album’s songs, the songs themselves don’t sound like songs from the band’s previous albums. It makes that familiar vibe all the more enjoyable. And when taken into consideration along with the positive lyrical side of the songs and their relatively listener friendly run times it becomes one more part of a whole that is one more great record from one of the best bands in the world of children’s music.
Wired will be available in stores and online June 17th. More information on Wired and all the latest from the band including tour dates and more is available online at http://www.facebook.com/recessmonkeytown, http://www.recessmonkey.com and http://twitter.com/recess_monkey. To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.
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