Family Man Online

April 9, 2008
Reviewed by Gregory Keer

Sometimes, I do get a little tired of kid songs. Although the kindie rock industry is cranking out consistently good music, some of the artists out there have gone the way of many pop stars – they’re playing it safe and reconstituting the same album each time out.

Not Gunnar Madsen.

After a five-year hiatus, during which he focused on being a dad, Madsen returns with a CD that delivers aural surprises on every track. He displays the far-reaching musicality of David Byrne (listen to the title track’s unusual arrangement) to the lyrical zaniness of Monty Python’s Eric Idle (“Bottom” and “I Feel a Waltz Coming On” could fit into an Idle stage production).

Madsen promenades down the country path on a number of tunes, though never without other stylistic frills. A ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll thread runs through the knee-slapping “Pumpkin Hair” (how tasty is a lyric that says, “she smells as sweet as butter”?) and the edgy feel of Beck sharpens “Walkin’ Back to Texas.”

Two other standouts are “Simple,” which celebrates the basic goodness of life via a Fine Young Cannibals vibe, and “Library Party,” which lets us in on the raucous inner life of librarians.

This is exhilarating music that never sounds the same with each listen. It’s the best work yet from a true family-music innovator.