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Think Raffi’s played out? Can’t stand those goddamned Wiggles? Worried that repeated exposure to Britney and her pop-tart peers will encourage the kids in your life to dress trashy and binge on Cheet-os? Help is here in the form of a delightful children’s record by Sho Mo & the Monkey Bunch – aka local comic genius Shoshana Sperling, partner Maury LaFoy (the Supers) and friends like Ian Lefeuvre, Jann Arden, Mia Sheard and Ron Sexsmith. The arrangements here are lovely and quite clever, from the bluegrass pastiche on Lil’ Chick to the shimmery pop ballad Other Side Of Tomorrow to a cheeky cover of Cole Porter’s Ev’ry Time We Say Goodnight. Sperling (who has a strikingly sweet, strong voice) puts her goofy wit to good use by employing gentle meta-humour, the kind that made Shrek as enjoyable for parents as it was for their kids. Best of all, the tunes are educational – Electric cars are good, pollution is bad! Wear sunscreen! – without getting didactic or talking down to the kiddies. You’ll go bananas.
Monkey around with Sho, Mo and pals at Supermarket Sunday (December 11).
