Flannery Brothers

I know we aren’t generally in the habit of giving bad reviews here — if we don’t think something is worth a dad’s hard-earned time and money, we simply won’t cover it — but the Flannery Brothers‘ Love Songs for Silly Things is a special case. As in an especially wonderful case. My house is a constant stream of kids’ music, and my 3.5-year-old daughter has reached the point where she doesn’t even bat an eyelash when a new CD or DVD arrives in the mail “for her.” With all that entertainment going on, it’s hard for one album to stand out, but Silly Things has done it, becoming an instant summer favorite for my daughter, my 21-month-old son, my wife, and even our visiting nephew, who turns 11 in September. Rare is the kids’ CD that doesn’t advertise itself as “fun for the whole family,” but this one really delivers on that promise; my nephew spent the better part of a week singing the chorus of “Broccoli Yet” under his breath, and my wife yelled “I love that CD!” when she walked in and found me writing this review.

They aren’t superstars (yet), but the Flannery Brothers aren’t just favorites in my household; they’ve actually become something of a sensation in their native Maine, and have won awards from the International Songwriting Competition and the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. The recognition is richly deserved, because each of the dozen tracks on this album is a delightful blend of kid-friendly fun and smart pop songcraft. Titles like “Best Pillow in the World,” “Rutabaga,” and “Dilly Beans” promise supreme levels of silliness, and Silly Things does not disappoint; it’s the kind of record made for long family car drives, and if your kids are anything like mine, they’ll be singing along before they’ve finished listening to the songs for the first time (of what will be many, I assure you).

Unlike a lot of kids’ records, Love Songs for Silly Things doesn’t feel like a piece of product — Dan and Mike Flannery take obvious joy in their work, and it shines through every hook, line, and chorus of this independently released CD. I can’t even get my daughter to stop listening to it long enough to give the new They Might Be Giants a spin with me. That pretty much says it all, doesn’t it?
- Jeff Giles: Dadnabbit

What are mornings like at your house? Do your kids wake up happy and ready to go? If so, well, you’re one of the lucky ones!

For the rest of us, we have to work to get our kids to wake up, stretch, yawn, get the sleepies out, and finally start their day. The less grumbles and whines during this process the better!

We’ve been using music as a way to wake up Ivan for just about his entire life. When the morning song comes on, it’s time to get up. This works in that he understands that he needs to get up, but he would still wake up grumpy. Now we have a new weapon in our arsenal: The Flannery Brothers’ new CD Wake Up Songs!

The CD is a collection of six hip, happy songs about how nice it is to get up and get your day started. The songs are chipper, but not obnoxiously so, and they find a way to be both uplifting and comforting at the same time. Most of the songs are set around a soft but upbeat organ piano sound that is really soothing to hear first thing in the morning.

As with all Flannery songs, these tunes have energy, but what I love most about them is the message that days are full of wonder and adventure and you don’t want to miss any of it by staying in bed. I actually find myself humming Wake-Up Song in the morning as I head over to Ivan’s room to get him up. It’s inspirational!


Ivan’s waking up.

My favorite verse in this song goes like this:

Well, in between breakfast and lunch
yes there is a whole bunch
of real cool stuff that I like to do,
and if you do so desire
there is an entire
adventure just waiting for you!
But my favorite song on the CD is Sleepyhead (click to listen to the full song), which Mike Flannery says is a very motivational song for himself as well.

You can pick up this jewel of a morning CD at the Flannery’s website: www.flannerybrothers.com.

And I guess I should admit that Ivan needs to listen to the CD twice before he actually starts smiling, but by the time we’re on our second listen through, he’s a fully transformed boy! - BostonChildrensMusic.com

A while back I received a fantastic surprise in the mail. A copy of The Flannery Brothers brand new CD Love Songs for Silly Things. It took me a while to get it into the CD player to have a good listen, but when I finally did, I was kicking myself I hadn't done it sooner! There isn't a song on here that didn't have me tapping the beat out on the steering wheel (first listen was on the way to ballet lessons :).

The album has a 50ish feel with a little Beachboys and the Muppets thrown in. Each song really is a love song for the silly things that Dan & Michael Flannery love the best. And you can't help but find a little adult appreciation in the lyrics.

The unanimous favourite for my husband and I is the second song "best pillow in the world". As adults we can so totally relate to the importance of a comfy pillow, Abby just loves the infectious beat and yelling the chorus really loud!

Ella however now eats broccoli since we started singing "broccoli yet" at the dinner table. The irony is a little lost on 2 1/2 yr olds, but I could kiss the Flannery Brothers for helping us over come another vegetable obstacle! She even does the coolest broccoli dance.

And there is no better start for a 5 o'clock boogie session than "Let's Start Dancing". What an awesome opener to this album.

Love Songs for Silly Things was only released in July 09, but it already has a swag of awards under it's belt. 2009 Preferred Choice from Award from Creative Child Magazine, "One Wasn't Enough" won the 2008 Lennon Award in the John Lennon Song Writing Contest, a 2008 Children's Music Web Award and honourable mentions in the International Songwriting Competition. Not bad for a first album.

Visit the Flannery Brothers website to hear a songs from the album and see footage from live performances. You can get your mitts on a copy of Love Songs for Silly Things at iTunes in Australia. - Monkeytail and Wellington