Secret: I am usually very slow to listen to promos. What with my handful of jobs and my increasing love of naps, it’s getting so that I have less time to sit and enjoy new music. Not so with DeSoto Records’ new kiddie compilation, Play. When you have a roster that includes Mudhoney, Young Fresh Fellows and Mary Timony writing kid-and-parent-friendly pop tunes, you’ve immediately got my attention, and in this case, my love.

MP3: Mirah and Tara Jane O’Neil - Greenup
Nothing like Mirah and TJO to shatter the idea of children’s music as “simple.” Their lush arrangements perfectly compliment the delightfully adorable song structure. The melody, which feels like something that could have been pulled from Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” — a work also aimed at children, gives the life-affirming lyrics room to stretch and grow. It’s worth having a kid just so there’s another set of ears in the world to hear songs like this.