Barenaked Ladies for kids

Barenaked Ladies: Snacktime (Desperation Records) — Really, why wouldn’t these guys do a kids’ record? First of all, they’re all family men with 11 kids between the five of them. But mainly, they’re a silly bunch who’ve long put kid-like humour — remember that wisecrack about Kraft Dinner in “If I Had a Million Dollars” — into their adult music. The wit is here too, with some very funny sung lines and some great verbal riffing between the band’s two frontmen, Ed Robertson and Steven Page. Style wise, there are a few very ladies-sounding songs with the twang of the double bass, but also a lot of genre bending, with tunes hitting the ’80s, the ’70s, folk and punk rock. Some of the Robertson tunes are a tad flip, but he also lands a few gems, such as the super-short “My Big Sister,” where he laments a hand-me-down coat. Brilliant. And the opening track “7 8 9” is also very clever, as is the little music video for it I found online, and “Crazy ABCs” is just that. Page and Kevin Hearn provide a lot of soaring, melodic tunes — but with pinches of humour in them too. I liked the reggae-like “Pollywog in a Bog” and the last track, the very beautiful “Here Come the Geese.” Am I mentioning a lot of songs? Well, there are a full 24 on this CD, which is rather a lot. I think a few could have been lobbed off to make for a more cohesive listen. But despite that, you likely won’t hear a better Canadian kids’ record this year. If it doesn’t win a Juno I’d be shocked.