Moey's Music Party

The biggest drawback with most children's records (especially if the tots in question take a liking to them) is that they will inevitably become a huge part of the parents' day-to-day life (this would explain the near universal disdain for a certain furry purple dinosaur). Melissa Levis, a prolific and award-winning off-Broadway songwriter who began writing for children after the birth of her son, knows that there are bigger ears in the room, so she bolsters her singalongs about "getting dressed," "sharing," and "sitting while you eat" with a clean indie pop backbeat peppered with acoustic guitars, alternating between the quirkier side of Leslie Feist and the amiable down-home cookies-in-the-oven swagger of Loretta Lynn. Moey's Music Party, described by Levis as "a 45-minute music class featuring piano, drums, guitar, puppets, and contemporary fairytales," is based on an actual class she teaches as head of the music department at New York City's York Avenue Preschool. Empowering, funny, and catchy, Levis' songs never overstay their welcome, and her eclectic pre-toddler rock history makes itself apparent on album highlights like "Pierre Wouldn't Wash His Hair," the folky and autobiographic "Me and My Mom," and the Ramones-style rocker "New York City Kid."