As a writer of enough unproduced screenplays, short stories, and children’s books to know what it’s like to be on the dark side of the decision-maker’s desk, I get frustrated with my inability to respond to every album that is sent my way. Sometimes, I miss the occasional gem, especially because I just don’t have the time to give everything a spin. Occasionally, my identification with the under-the-radar project really works for me, though, as it does with this new recording by a Brooklyn-based pair of fantastically original singer-songwriters. The Pop Ups first album is the kind of experience that drops in from seeming outer space, puts your ears askew for a spell, then takes up residence in your musical house like the artistic yet extremely likeable cousin you wish you had.
Jacob Stein (the longtime leader of Tribeca’s Bim Bom Musicfest class) and Jason Rabinowitz (co-writer/producer of the 3 Little Maestros albums) set down the tracks for this album in a weeklong recording session in a bedroom studio. The finished product feels like the duo is actually in your own room (or car, or wherever you are listening) with an intimate, singing-just-for you vibe. Years ago, I’d seen Jacob perform in person, playing with his remarkably multi-talented brother Jared, and the feeling was just as it is on this CD.
The title track hit me at an angle and slowly swayed its way into my consciousness as a Where the Wild Things Are-type study of why children can be loud outside but quiet inside. “Subway Train” has an ubercool New Wave thing going on as it depicts the sounds animals make. The Pop Ups continue to genre hop, while never losing their connection to the kid audience, as reggae washes over “Balloon,” electronic minimalism propels “Apes in Capes,” and Simon and Garfunkel folk floats over “I’m Tired.”
“Pasta,” an ode to the vast variety of the noodles, cooks on a ‘60s R&B flame and is an album stand-out. It’s also the basis for a live puppet-show-with-music extravaganza that’s moving its way west this summer. Here’s hoping that the show and the glowing reviews the Pop Ups are getting for their debut album will have them playing in your home and on a stage near you very soon.
