Put Your Arms in the Air performed by Cowboy Andy and the Salamanders

Montana-based Cowboy Andy and the Salamanders follow their celebrated album Bubbles with their new collection of rollicking, kid-friendly tunes. Much like on their previous albums, each song has its own personality and clever lyrics abound on tracks such as “Mom Only Counts to Three” where a child tries to best the mom who is giving him to the count of three to get ready and “Snow!” that celebrates the end of summer and the impending change in the weather. “Snow” also includes a groovy snow dance break and snow chant that children in areas that experience a lot of the white stuff will be sure to use in the hopes of conjuring a snow day or two. In addition, “Countdown” calls to mind old variety shows where a song would begin then the performers would take a break to chat before diving back into the song. In this case the countdown goes from 20 down to 2. Before they get to one, funny breaks occur where favorite foods like ice cream, frozen bananas and s’mores are discussed but Cowboy Andy just can’t seem to remember that one essential ingredient (chocolate!). Listeners will have a great time filling in the blanks and laughing at the twists.

Two tracks that would work well in programs are the title track and “The Letter Why.” “Put Your Arms in the Air” would be a good addition to storytimes or music programs (or any program that needs a movement break). While it clocks in at just over four minutes, the variety of tempos and movements will keep listeners engaged the entire time. Pair “The Letter Why” with the Pop Ups song, “How Do We Know” to explore all of the crazy, wacky, everyday things kids want to learn more about. 

Cowboy Andy’s music on the nine original songs on the album features so much more than clever lyrics. There also is a beautiful musicality to the songs, especially those that work as wordless music breaks. “Already Great” has a lovely bossa nova feel and is followed three tracks later  by “Pitfall” which almost has a Santana feel to it as the electric guitar and flute take center stage. The last break, “Tu Eres Lo Más Preciado” is Spanish spoken word with a musical backdrop. The final song on the album is “The Passenger” which originally came to fame performed by Iggy Pop. This time around, to make the song a little less Iggy and a little more kid friendly, the song begins with train sounds and cello accompaniment before easing into a new arrangement with a jazz vibe that features a stellar set of horns.

Put Your Arms in the Air is a wonderfully eclectic collection of musical genres and fun, relatable lyrics that families will want to listen to again and again.