Charity & The JAMband's New Album: Party Like a Twinkle Star
February 18, 2010
by Caroline Holt
Whenever we get pre-release and newly released kids music, we dash to open it and pop it in our CD player. While our family had had no previous exposure to Charity and the JAMband, within moments of inserting the first CD of her two-disc set, called Party, we were transported to a summer concert series or family picnic (or at times, I was transported to Saturday morning JEM cartoons from the 90s “Jem, Jem, truly outrageous”). We were in the car, so both kids were bopping in their carseats, and got right into their music.
Charity & JAMband’s new album Party Like a Twinkle Star is a daytime party then an evening lullaby set. The compilation is indie rock meets family fun, so you might call it “kindie rock.” They definitely have more of a pop than rock style on the first disc Party, but there were traces of the Sugar Cubes or Bangles, a riff from the Beastie Boys that I caught and some other vaguely familiar but not quite placeable nods to rockers of days past. Twinkle was a bit more Suzanne Vega. Depending on our mood and time of day, we have enjoyed the toe-tapping hits of Party or the more laid back, ready-for-beddie harmonies from Twinkle.
The clear standout song for our family on the set is Some More S'mores. Makes me want to go and roast up a marshmallow, particularly after 2 weeks of snow days. We all (dad included) hum it; it sticks-in-your-head like ooey gooey marshmallows! But many of the songs are great. In fact, I zoned out for a moment while driving the other day and actually thought I was listening to grown-up music...apparently my son did too, because he asked for kids music when we got to Track 10. So grownups, if you are looking for something more indie and less kindie, go straight to track 10 on Party, or just pop Disc 2 Twinkle in right away.
While I enjoy both, I prefer the Twinkle CD. It’s great mood music, with sweet, melodious lyrics. In addition to modernized versions of Rock-A-Bye Baby and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, the album features several original harmonies as well. Since we have been playing the second disc as mood music, fewer of the lyrics have made as lasting an impression, but I find So Long to the Day and The Bird to be the most soothing and inspiring.
Depending on your current collection, you might go for both, or if you choose one, I would recommend Twinkle. You can download the Party album for $9.99 or the Twinkle album for $9.99 or download the double album for $15.99. You can also purchase a hard copy of the CD for $19.99.
For more information, or to download this new two-disc set, visit Charity and The JAMband’s website at: www.jamjamjam.com.
