It’s always such a delight to discover a kid-friendly album that’s truly a pleasure to listen to with an adult ear. The debut release from Sunshine Collective, Wanna Play? is just that: a fresh, fun album for kids and adults alike.
Sunshine Collective has been compared with Regina Spektor, Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson (all artists I respect and adore), and this 12-track release has all the best qualities of indie pop with a truly remarkable selection of instruments and musicians lending their chops to singer/songwriter Stephanie Richards’ vocals and composer/songwriter Brian Arbuckle’s charming arrangements.
The title track, Wanna Play?, is a short instrumental overture that does an excellent job of setting the musical bar for the rest of the album. I Just Wanna Play is probably my favorite track with upbeat, light vocals, piano and an excellent fiddle melody.
Brian Arbuckle has had a successful career in composition, and that fact is really apparent in the rich orchestration in tracks like A Thousand Notable Things with the use of percussion (sounds like marimba to me) you don’t generally hear in most indie albums.
The styles range from 60s sunshine pop to sweet and lazy New Orleans jazz fiddle to Dixieland brass with an awesome walking bass. In addition to the obvious talents of Stephanie and Brian, Wanna Play? features the work of multi-instrumentalist Dan Weinstein, Gin Blossoms’ Jesse Valenzuela and Bonzo Dog Band’s “Legs” Larry Smith.
Want to learn more? Check out Sunshine Collective online!
Disclaimer: Sunshine Collective was kind enough to provide a free copy of their album for my review. I received no compensation for this post and the opinions expressed here are my own. Full disclosure »
