Hooray! I Smell a Ratboy Jr.!

Two guys can make a lot of noise.

I know this first-hand (from being a kid) and (from being an adult) listening to Ratboy Jr.'s new CD, CHAMPIONS OF THE UNIVERSE. Tim Sutton and Matty Senzatimore like to get children up and moving. Dancing, shaking, singing, clapping. In other words, participating in the experience. And that can get pretty loud.

But don't think the CD isn't educational. The guys are fully aware of their moral responsibility to youth and provide solid lesson plans, such as "How to Eat a Cloud" and "Pretend Your Hand's a Puppet."

Ratboy Jr. also are not afraid to ask the hard questions. For instance, in the song "Upside Down":

What would happen if the world were upside down?
Would it make my smile look like a frown?
Would the fish fall out of the sea?
Would my pockets always be empty?
What would happen if the world were upside down?

The song mentions how Lionel Richie sang happily about dancing on the ceiling. And we get a chorus of that tune.

Mostly produced by Dean Jones (Dog on Fleas), CHAMPIONS OF THE UNIVERSE is 15 tracks of kid-friendly whimsy and byplay. The duo wonder "Where Do Monsters Go (After Halloween)?" and herald the wonders of the "Guitar-Pickin' Chicken." No wonder they've found and kept a satisfied following in the upstate New York's Hudson Valley.

I put a rush on this review because once I opened the CD, Ben had already asked me twice, "Where's Ratboy Jr.?" High praise indeed, that the 12-year-old couldn't wait for an adult to finish with the serious analysis so he could use it for its intended purpose – juvenile entertainment.

CHAMPIONS OF THE UNIVERSE is available at the band's website, Amazon, CDBABY, and iTunes.

Here is the video for "Guitar-Pickin' Chicken":