26 August 2009

The Sippy Cups - Time Machine CD Review

The Sippy Cups "The Time Machine"

The Sound:
California kiddie psych rock.

In the Cafeteria, They Sit With: The Jellydots, The Flaming Lips, Ralph's World, Eric Herman.

Best Moments:
"One Day Soon", the album's stand out track, tells of a child excited to learn to swim, read and, before long, blast off into space. The soaring chorus is insanely good. "My Angry Voice" delves into the emotions behind a scream, receiving high marks for it's honesty and it's mid-song apology. Every child balances excitement and fear in loosing their 1st tooth, "My Loose Tooth" outlines that juggling act perfectly, doing so on top of a groovy beat ideal for shakin' that tooth right out of your head.

Bonus Thoughts:
Last month the band broke new ground as the 1st ever kid's band to have a free download via iTunes. The song, "7 is the new 14", cleverly uses the "blank is the new blank" phrase to articulate the phenomenon of kids growing up too fast while we adults continue to act younger and younger. But, just to be clear, "6 1/2 is the same old 6 1/2".

Okay, Time to Wrap it Up with a Nice Little Bow: "Time Machine" is an immaculately recorded album with glistening production work and
featuring some superb vocal performances. The Sippy Cups are pushing the boundaries of kid's and family music, infusing funk and groove into a genre still trying to find room for such flavors. Not every song here works but it's not for lack of effort. When the band finds the voice of a child however, as they do on all 3 of my aforementioned Best Moments, they rarely miss the mark. In total, The Sippys have a crafted a thoroughly modern, fantastic family album.

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