Smiles Ahead: Cool Music for Cool Families is jangle pop perfect kindie

Pop quiz hotshot: you’re traveling in the car and need some kindie music for the family, but don’t want to purchase more than one release. What do you do? First off, keep planning that road trip and get your paws on Smiles Ahead: Cool Music for Cool Families. It’s a kindie greatest hits of sorts because the songs are all previously unreleased and from some of the biggest and best names in kindie today.

More importantly the songs on Smiles Ahead are new from the artists and do not feel like rejects from their individual full length releases. It’s the elephant in the room. You hear about a compilation of ‘new’ songs and expect it be the audio equivalent of belly button lint. This is the release that shatters that mold in a kindie way, smiling all the way through the process and introducing you to a great new artist (for the kids) or two.

This is kindie. These aren’t nursery rhymes. Having said that, kindie is great for any age, it’s children’s music that doesn’t pander down to younger listeners.  The songs are toe tapping, sometimes fast talking, not sleepy and give those who don’t know kindie; or those looking for new songs from their favorite artists something to dig into.

It has new music from lots of Grammy nominated artists like Brandy Rymer, The Pop Ups, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, Casper Babypants (aka Chris Ballew) and others. Unless you’re Out With The Kids or in the music industry you’ll discover a new artist that you want to hear more from on Smiles Ahead.

For example we discovered that The Verve Pipe are doing kindie now and it’s great! It’s an alt-rock, jangle pop gem about being happy and growing up. Katydid is another one her voice is pure, genuine and her Together Song makes listeners want to hear more.

Rissi Palmer’s voice and Best Day Ever has more a country, mellow vibe but it’s just about perfect. It’s a song that can be enjoyed by parents as much as children. The same goes for Johnny Bregar and Dragonfly. He brings joy and, dare I say-smiles, to a song that has a jam-band feel and feels at home on Hot AC or your internet kindie station.

Plan the road trip, put on Smiles Ahead in the kitchen or wherever because this is the entry point into children’s music or kindie that you’ve been looking for.