About.com Rating

With what might be the best kids' music album title since Dean Jones' Napper's Delight, The Pop Ups employ a musical hybrid of Chromeo and Yo Gabba Gabba! to explore the joys of hands-on fun. In fact, the overarching theme of Appetite for Construction is active participation that involves the whole family, from arts and crafts to insect identification, dressing up, pretend play, and dancing. It's nice to see a band acknowledge the fact that children really do have an insatiable appetite for construction, and we adults need to help feed that creative hunger!

Right on, Pop Ups!

The Band

The Pop Ups are Jason Rabinowitz and Jacob Stein, a musical duo from Brooklyn, New York. They released their kids' music debut Outside Voices in 2010, garnering unending praise from critics and listeners alike. The CD made several 2010 top ten lists, including The Washington Post, Time Out New York Kids, the Fids and Kamily critics' poll, and kids' music bloggers Out with the Kids and Zooglobble, as well as winning a National Association of Parenting Publications Award and being on the ballot for a GRAMMY nomination. The Pop Ups followed up Outside Voices with the GRAMMY-nominated 2012 release Radio Jungle.

The Pop Ups have been busy with other aspects of show business, as well. The band created the stage show "PASTA: A Pop Ups Puppet Musical," which ran in Los Angeles and New York and on the fall 2011 Yo Gabba Gabba! Live Tour. The puppets featured in "PASTA" were created by the same team that worked on The Muppet Show, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and "Dinosaur Rock!

" Their latest stage show is "Radio Jungle," a comedic, musical adventure that takes them on an ecological scavenger hunt, utilizing many of the characters in "PASTA."

The Music of Appetite for Construction

Appetite kicks off with "Getting the Job Done," a Dazz Band-like jam dedicated to the concept of play = work = play. Then the band ask what can we make with "All These Shapes," encouraging and celebrating children's limitless imaginations, with a wink and nod to parents (and grandparents) suggesting a Sonic Youth CD case as a possible project. "Block House" is a super smooth tune that tips its musical hat to classic mid-'80s R&B while having fun with alphabet blocks, and the ready-for-radio "Costume Party" features a super New Wave / New Romantic sax solo by Dos Allen. The smoothed-out, laid-back "Bug Out" is a great movement participation song, while the head-bobbing electro-fawnk of "Pictures Making Pictures" provides a danceable background for a collage how-to activity.

More Music from Appetite for Construction

The smooth and poppy "Craft Night" gives the whole family step-by-step holiday crafting instructions to make "beautiful things," while The Beach Boys meet Haircut 100 in an instructional movement song that goes beyond the tangible and encourages listeners to use "Your Own Imagination." Then everybody hits the floor for "Robot Dance," a tune that would work well with the title track from Mr. Leebot's 2009 album or Money Mark's "Robot Friends" from Season 2 of Yo Gabba Gabba! The Pop Ups help us build a "Puppet Playground" via some acoustic/electric indie garage rock, but now there's "Glitter Everywhere" so the fun must end, as the brief, droning Fleet Foxes-meet-"Mother Nature's Son" tune brings a day of crafting to an end. Appetite concludes with the quiet storm vibe of the epic "Go to Sleep," helping listeners wind down with the aural combination of Mac & Jack's "The Girl is Mine" and Chris Rainbow's "Love You Eternally," emceed by Barry White.

The Verdict

The Pop Ups are definitely in a class by themselves when it comes to quality modern family music. Others have either jokingly or misguidedly tried to infuse kids' albums with synths and drum machines, but The Pop Ups get it right, and do so genuinely and expertly. Their enthusiasm for what they do is clearly evident through their compositions and production, making Appetite for Construction one of the best kids' music CDs of 2014. And check out Julianna Parr's album cover/CD design, an added visual treat for fans!

Released August 19, 2014; Kugelsongs

Track Listing

1. "Getting the Job Done"
2. "All These Shapes"
3. "Block House"
4. "Costume Party"
5. "Bug Out"
6. "Pictures Making Pictures"
7. "Craft Night"
8. "Your Own Imagination"
9. "Robot Dance"
10. "Puppet Playground"
11. "Glitter Everywhere"
12. "Go to Sleep"