Review
It s no surprise to me that children’s and kid’s music is being lifted from the banal to the beautific. Kids are supremely networked and informed to the hip, the lame, the cool and even before the computers changed modern living children knew when they were being talked down to. In same spirit of completely wonderful, whimsical and musically gifted treats for the young set is the Bay Area-based Hipwaders pulling off some brilliantly fun and surprisingly hip songs extolling [Read More...]
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The Hipwaders’ sophomore effort gets more out of jangly, hook-infused power pop than almost any other children’s album we’ve heard in years, and it has the confidence of a songwriter (Tito Uquillas) who can to take in elements of other genres and make them his own in a band that hasn’t lost its edge or power to surprise. From predictably-structured songs like “Art Car” and “Little Baby Brother” to intricately constructed and variably-paced songs like “The History of Declan Rae,” the Hipwaders make making great music sound easy. Their knack for setting great pop hooks into a surprising tapestry of sound is apparent in the chanting funk chorus of “Dewey Decimal System” (”Dewey Dewey Dewey Dewey Dewey Decimal System Dewey”), the harmonized bopping on “Little Baby Brother,” and almost everywhere else you turn.
But the music is just part of it; their perspective has a freshness that is rare in a genre that emphasizes beat and melody first, then sentiment and humor, and rarely offers anything like insight. This is an album many adults will quickly fall in love with for its sideways glances at a variety of topics, and Uquillas manages to pack information into songs without a whiff of “learning.” “The History of Declan Rae” is a “history” of a young child which passes through all of the major ages of Earth’s history, “and then came you”; and yes, “Dewey Decimal System” does teach you the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System. The album’s title track is an anthem against restrictive definitions of talent, education, and achievement that just might change a ten-year-old’s life.
Top Tracks: Little Baby Brother / Educated Kid / The History of Declan Rae / Dewey Decimal System / Song of the Paleo Pirates / You’ve Got To Move / Stuffed Animal Boy
The Hipwaders found themselves at the forefront of hip children’s music last month when they were invited to play at Kidzapalooza, the kids’ music festival that is a part of the larger Lollapalooza concert held in Chicago.
It’s easy to see why they caught the attention of organizers. The Hipwaders make instantly irresistible pop-rock tunes in a style that ranges from early 80’s Elvis Costello to the 21st century power pop of the Candy Butchers. They mesh their influences into a consistently appealing sound.
Their second CD, Educated Kid, was released this week. It’s even better than their first.
Singer Tito Uquillas puts a fresh spin on a few classic subjects, like dinosaurs, siblings, math, toys, and animals. He has a unique and pleasing voice that my kids both immediately recognized when I first played the CD for them. Some of the lyrics border on, gasp, educational, but are always imaginative and fun. We’re all well versed on the Dewey Decimal System now after listening to The Hipwaders’ funky take on the subject.
Both my kids say there’s not a bad song on the disc. A definite must-have for kids of all ages.