As a mum of an almost-5 year old boy, we’d listened to a lot of kids music over the years. We initially turned to the classics - Disney (which undoubtedly offered great tunes, but unfortunately the same songs were repeat requested) and nursery rhymes (which got really old, really quickly)! So my husband and I started looking out for something different... Something we could ALL enjoy. This was a tall order, but a lucky Google search led us to Al Start! 

We have been enjoying Al’s music for a couple of years now, and car journey is rarely complete without having listened to a few of her tracks. I particularly appreciate the lack of saccharine so often associated with kids music, which is evident in both the vocals, production and stories behind the songs. This is not traditional kids music, and I mean that in the best possible way, as it’s music that adults would actually choose to listen to. She’s not afraid to inject a bit of melancholy or more serious subject matters. All this said, the prospect of a new album was an exciting one.

“Robot” feels a bit more sophisticated in style compared to her previous Go Kid Music albums, and felt more focused on slightly older children and families as a whole. There were plenty of catchy tunes and soaring vocals, as we’d come to expect from Al, but the lyrics seemed less frivolous and more thoughtful, and spoke of life’s pleasures, such as going to the park (Higher and Higher) and dreaming of flying (Up, Up and Away), as well as life’s pains, commenting on environmental issues (Brand New Day) and the life of a servant (The Victorian Way).

As my child is still quite young, I could almost pick out the songs I thought he’d like by the titles alone. To an extent, I was right. Banana Milkshake was immediately the favourite, and we both found ourselves dancing along, and laughing at the lyrics. (I defy you not to sing along with the chorus, “Shake it, shake it, shake banana milkshake”!) My son also enjoyed Grandad’s Pants (largely because it was about pants), and he also asked to hear ‘the rainy song’ again (Jumbled Around). He tended to gravitate to the more amusing, upbeat songs (e.g. a faster tempo).

I particularly enjoyed Higher and Higher, with its catchy little chorus, and also Up, Up and Away, which had a chilled-out, dreamy quality. My favourite track though was Four Grey Cats. My boy liked this one too and we swayed along to this song together. It’s a folky summery track and it definitely falls into the realms of feeling like my music (rather than my kid’s), so as a parent, that’s a real win. It definitely beats having to listen to electronically altered voices singing “Dingle Dangle Scarecrow” by a country mile!

The title track, Robot, caused a bit of discussion because “didn’t they know you can’t grow up to be a robot because they’re made of metal”. You can’t really argue with that!

In summary, this is another great album from Al Start. For us, the only thing lacking were some more of the funny singalong songs that lend themselves well to accompanying actions (like Gorrid the Horrid, Cake, Creepy Castle), as they’re the ones that we most enjoy singing together. I suspect, for that reason, the little person will be wanting more than one helping of Banana Milkshake.

I’d recommend this for any parents who want to keep the kids happy, but want their own ears to be happy too, and simply cannot contemplate the 55th repeat of “Let it Go”. Do yourself (and your ears) a favour, and get some Al Start in your life!

By Laura Townshend, Parent 7/05/20