Virtual Crate Digging: Sunshine Kidz
Folks are always asking about what’s new and upcoming but, as shown by the vital and venerable culture of crate digging, looking backwards can also yield unexpected results and reveal hidden gems. And boy oh boy do we have some hidden gems. Let’s dig through our virtual bins of vinyl and see what we find.
Sunshine Storytime Gold
Who doesn’t love a little sunshine? Get ready to feel like a kid again with some “serendipitous good clean fun” that channels the endearing qualities of kitsch and nostalgia into a soundtrack built for anything from the adventurous of beloved animated characters to ads for laundry detergent.
Creating music for children’s programming and products has to be balanced. Otherwise, it can cross the line into annoying territory… and not in the sort of fun “Baby Shark” kind of way. More sincere than goofy, more heartwarming than slapstick, the whimsical instrumentation found on Sunshine Kidz (OPSK-040) walks the line between Wes Anderson and SpongeBob. It retains the affectionate smile of TV parents while capturing the (organic) spark of a child’s imagination.
Take that heartwarming emotional connection and run it through your elementary school’s general music classroom, and you’ll have a pretty accurate idea how this album sounds. Simple piano, glockenspiel, handclaps and percussion, recorders, ukulele, and whistling all make appearances that add up to a bright and playful sound.
Typically in our Virtual Crate Digging travels, we try to showcase the deeper cuts. But the opening track of “Brand New Lunch Box” is truly the best place to start. The cheerful, mid-tempo march is perfect for Saturday morning cartoons and ‘Back to School’ sales, ready to begin the day on a sunny note. An oddball, yet catchy melody is played by a group of recorders with twinkling glockenspiel bells to brighten the whole thing up even more. It’s a memorable opener that fuels the whimsy of the rest of the album.
But every storytime needs a little mystery and suspense. That’s where tracks like “Fun House Secrets” come in, continuing the lighthearted approach to quirky, conspiratorial make-believe. Plucked ukuleles pique your curiosity as you get closer to solving the puzzle in a moderately spooky setting, playing detective and following the clues.
All the tracks on Sunshine Kidz have a retro, cheesy flavor that contributes to the fun with a spontaneity that effectively mimics a child’s imagination. It could work as a “Choose Your Own Adventure” soundtrack, taking endless twists and turns, or picked out as a la carte helpings in ads that appeal to kids and adults alike. No matter the application, the possibilities run wild with this album. After all, there are no limits… at least when you’re in kindergarten.
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