P:ano- Ghost Pirates Without Heads (2005)

I somehow just stumbled onto this group while searching for something new that I hadn't heard before.  (I tend to download different things that I have never heard of or if their name looks cool, ie- P:ano)  The first time I listened to this album I was a little iffy. But since I have been searching for cool kids albums for my son to listen to, that won't drive me completely insane, I have ended up liking this.  I have since searched the internet for more information of P:ano, and have realized this is just one of those quirky indie pop groups.  Even though this isn't really a kids album, it is kid friendly; when I play it on the Xbox 360, and turn on the full screen visual effects, I get my son to zone out for a few minutes.  (He basically zones out on the imagery of the 360 visual effects, I could probably play anytime of music and he'd still like it, but for this post, I will use this band as the reason for his "zoning") 

Hailing from Canada, this 4 piece brings some really cool little songs, that are fun to listen to and is comprised of acoustic instruments. (woodblock, guitar, woodwinds, vocals, etc.)  With only 11 tracks, all of them short due to the running time of right under half an hour, this a good album to listen to while not wanting to spend energy figuring out the instrumentation or being bogged down by lots of studio layering/engineering.  Each song has lyrics based on some sort of dialogue that has some humerus lines which will make you smirk, or laugh, as you hear it. 

Like I stated above, this is kid friendly and fun; which does have it's own drawbacks since most avid music fans wants substance in what they listen to.  A great album to find cheaply or for download, in order to put in a queue while playing with the kids, cleaning the house or for a group setting where you might be drinking and having a good time. 

Official score- 3.25/5

Asylum Street Spankers- Spanker Madness (2001)

If you haven't heard of, or not familiar with the Asylum Street Spankers, do so now.   TASS is one of the greatest modern blues/bluegrass/country/jazzy groups ever.  TASS has a long history, too long for this entry, with a huge list of releases; all of which are worth getting, and more than likely will end up being reviewed here at sometime in the future.  If you are looking to see them live, act fast, they are currently on their farewell tour!

Spanker Madness was my first introduction to the band.  I saw this in the used section of a now local defunct book/cd store, and picked it up due to the Reefer Madness reference, and my love of all things weed related; it did not disappoint. 13 great tracks with all things weed/beer related, as well as some tongue-in-cheek stances on the socialization of usage.  I couldn't even start to list, but I suppose I will when I tag this, all the genres that are played on this album.  You could start with blues, head on over to jazz, bring it back with some good old bluegrass inspired sing-alongs then throw in some really spot on Tom Waits style tunage. 

All these songs are catchy, yet intricate and have a great style of vocals; both male/female.  Multiple musicians that make up TASS play their part to the T, and you can tell that inventiveness meets talent on a grand scale. I'm not going to say what you should listen to... well scratch that I will... listen to these guys!  If you don't like any of the genres that are played by TASS, then you'll love this album based on content alone.  Check out their website, buy the album, download the album or go see them live.  And when you do visit their website, you can see their great discography, with music, clothes and videos.

Official score: 4.5/5