In the Nick of Time Stops the Clock for Fun

Like his neighbor Billy Kelly ('The Pride of Lewiston"), Nick Deysher of Northampton, Massachusetts is a purveyor of fine kindie music, none bottled and sold before its time.

In the Nick of Time, his children's music project with wife Tracey Freitag, has returned with their fourth collection, FUN O'CLOCK. Hey, that title is almost a concept in itself! Nick 'n Tracey have an agenda chock full o' musical genres. It's almost as if they generated a checklist (Celtic? "Hey Nonny No." Surf? "Best Friend.") but that would be too earnest. In the Nick of Time is conceptually titled towards having a good time.

Like fellow statesmen Josh and the Jamtones, Nick wants his audience to have a little party. And he wants to get the party started, with the title track and followup, "Doin' a Little Dance" and the Beastie Boys homage, "Mama Don't Allow" (featuring guest artist Mista Cookie Jar). I even appreciated the Southern rock and '70s country feel on "My Favorite Sneakers."

There's a tiny bit of education and positive reinforcement buried not-too-far from the surface in "Don't Say Can't" and "You've Only Got One Body." But we're talking about children's music with an expiration at pre-teen. So it's age-appropriate and "See? They're even singing about it" appropriate.

I'm surprised that FUN O'CLOCK is a late-year release. That means the kids will be forced to enjoy the upbeat songs in a "house party" setting until the spring, when they can be released back into the wilds. Perhaps Nick 'n Tracey will surface for an NYC area appearance to perform the material. That could happen...in the nick of time.

FUN O'CLOCK is available at the duo's website, CDBABY, Amazon, and iTunes.

Here is a video of In the Nick of Time performing, "Making Silly Faces":