ALISON FAITH LEVY - WORLD OF WONDER (Album Review)

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The opening track on WORLD OF WONDER, the latest album from ALISON FAITH LEVY had me scared for a few seconds of it’s 0:56 runtime. Something about ”Reach for the Sky” struck me as the set-up for the kind of over-folk, pop-cheese that a lot of parents associate with family music, and I personally try to avoid. Fortunately, this ‘intro’ track was just a lead-in, and when it got to the words ”Now Let’s Rock!,” I was able to breathe a sigh of relief and wipe the sweat from my brow. Having missed out on Levy’s previous band, the SIPPY CUPS, my expectations were wide open. So let’s take a listen to some of the best tracks…

“Like A Spinning Top” is a great “proper” opener that seems to share some sonic DNA with the COUNTING CROWS’ Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman) while inciting the kind of head-nodding action that any toddler-having parent loves to see.

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“Detours” teaches kids an important lesson about the roadblocks of life and crashing through and crushing moving past them politely with a wave and a smile.

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“Itsy Bitsy Spider” has never sounded more epic and soulful than it does here, reworked to sound as if a lost track from the infamous and often-copied Phil Spector “Wall of Sound” era…

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“Eye of the Tornado” opens with an ode to the Wizard of Oz before spinning it’s own tale of the balance to be found at the middle of chaos. It’s all about the metaphor, but a message to be absorbed not only by kids, but by parents (like myself) that sometimes find themselves overwhelmed.

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