Adults These Days
Self-Released, 2022
8/10
The award winning family musician Greg Lato returns with his sophomore children’s record, where nods to the ‘70s and ‘80s unfold with a very diverse and fun listen, regardless of age.
“New Lunchbox” opens the affair with crisp drums and dense bass lines, as Lato’s soulful pipes tell the tale of the food compartment, and “Relive This Song Again” follows with some modern rock flavor that’s full of smooth guitar and soaring backing vocals.
Later on, “My Birthday Party” lands in pop-rock territory with its rhythmic climate and instant sing-alongs, while the title track, inspired by something Lato’s 8 year old daughter said, uses buzzing synth strategically amid the radiant song craft.
Rounding the listen out is the jazz-rock appeal and spoken word of “What Kind Of Animal Would You Be?”, which welcomes vocal scatting from Becky Bass, and “The Bike In The Tree”, a purely spoken piece, which makes sense since Lato is also an author.
Similarities to The Cars, Imagine Dragons or Fountains of Wayne won’t be hard to spot here, and the feel good songs and engaging storytelling make for another well done piece to add to a resume that includes plenty of TV and film placement, and a several well done solo albums from the very talented artist.
Travels well with: Kelli Welli- Robots Don’t Tell Jokes; Jenn Cleary- Happy Day