Having listened to more than my share of albums by female singers who wear vintage frocks, play quirky instruments, and wish they were Zooey Deschanel or Jenny Lewis, I hear warning sirens when I open a CD and see a woman holding a tiny keyboard and wearing thick glasses and a thrift-store outfit. And honestly, if you have a low tolerance for cute, Mind of My Own may test your limits — but then, you’ve probably had those limits trampled by plenty of kids’ acts, and this album steps around them more cleverly than most. It’s the family music equivalent of a curtsy and a smile: It might be a little much, but it’s too charming to resist.

Aided by kindie producer du jour Tor Hyams, England lays out a musical landscape that’s all sunshine and flowers; even when she’s grumpily protesting parental tyranny on the title track, she sounds more like she’s scrunching her nose than throwing a tantrum, and the names of the other songs — including “Ladybug,” “Cookies and Milk,” “Red Balloon,” “Do You Hear the Birds Singing?” and “Big Heart” — give you a pretty good idea of her overall perspective. And even if you don’t normally go for this sort of thing (or if, like me, you’re suffering from an overdose of the Zooey Effect), you have to admit it plays perfectly to England’s strengths — she’s good at conveying childlike innocence, and she’s got the perfect cotton candy voice for this stuff.

Like cotton candy, Mind of My Own may trigger sugar shock in large doses, but at a breezy 37 minutes and change, it doesn’t overstay its welcome; in fact, a couple of songs clock in under two minutes. Consider it a gateway drug for the Apple ad-approved bands on your iPod and heed England’s call for a living room dance in your underpants.

The Final Funktier

Personally, I’ve always found space pretty terrifying, but maybe that’s because I came of age during an era in which space songs were being recorded by freaky, synth-toting dudes like Peter Schilling — or maybe it was because Starship came from space, and they were awful. Either way, Recess Monkey makes leaving Earth sound like a lot of fun, from wearing “Moon Boots” and a “Jet Pack” to meeting up with a “Ukulalien,” sailing in the “Galax Sea,” and doing the “Constellation Conga.” (The band’s shifty manager, Mayor Monkey, even makes an appearance on “Space Elevator Music.”) I’ve always been a firm believer in outlawing concept albums, but The Final Funktier is so good it almost makes up for Tarkus and Tales from Topographic Oceans. (Not this one, though. Shudder.)

If you want to be picky, Funktier‘s actual funk quotient is perhaps overstated in its title — it isn’t like Recess Monkey has turned into Parliament all of a sudden — but this 15-track collection delivers some of the band’s sharpest, most entertaining songs, full of hooks, humor, and that signature Recess Monkey charm. My personal favorite is the brassy “Constellation Conga” — Recess Monkey, please send me an eight-minute dance mix of this track immediately — but there really isn’t a bad tune in the bunch. It’ll make a perfect soundtrack for the next time you head out for new adventures (or, y’know, grocery shopping) in the family car. Watch the band’s video for “Moon Boots,” and then go pre-order your copy today.

Milkshake – Great Day (2009, Milkshake Music)
purchase from Amazon

Milkshake isn’t just a band, it’s a budding media empire. Since rising from the ashes of Baltimore’s LOVE RiOT in 2002, they’ve become fast favorites of the indie kidpop world, releasing three well-received CDs (Happy Songs, Bottle of Sunshine, and PLAY!), a DVD (Screen Play, issued earlier this year), appearing all over the Noggin, Discovery Kids, and PBS Kids networks, and even spinning off a Milkshake comic book (featuring the band as superheroes, natch); with their brand new fourth album, Great Day, they stand poised to rock the diapers off musically adventurous children of all ages.

I don’t mean “rock” ironically, either — Milkshake’s stuff has sharper teeth than most children’s music, and it’s more musically adventurous to boot: Great Day‘s dozen tracks lead the listener on a madcap dash that boasts punk-kissed pop (“Shake It Up”), hints of zydeco (“Statue of Me”), and a dash of newgrass (the banjo-laced “When I’m Old”). It’s also packed to the rafters with stringed instruments, from the aforementioned banjo to the ukulele, mandolin, and hollow-body Gretsch guitar (lended by ex-Glenmont Pope Rodney Henry). It’s fun, mostly uptempo stuff, with messages that are both appealing (“I want five scoops of ice cream, piled up so high”) and important (“You did it! Yeah! I gotta say I think you’re great”) for the band’s target demographic.

If you’re already a fan (or a parent of a fan), Great Day will not disappoint — and if you haven’t partaken of Milkshake’s tasty sweet goodness until now, this album’s a fine place to start, boasting some of the band’s best material in addition to solid production work from Tor Hyams and a handful of hip cameos. Sample Milkshake’s wares at their official site.