Gunnar Madsen Sets the Table After 10 Years

Skipping a decade can be detrimental to a musician (or group)'s career; R.E.M. may have broken up in 2011 and I've been waiting in vain to hear about Michael Stipe doing anything substantial musically. On the children's music front, Raffi took 14 years off but then released two CDs in 14 months. The latest to fill in the blanks is Gunnar Madsen, re-entering the fray with I AM YOUR FOOD, a collection of culinary-based chorales.

I'm blowing the significance of the recording gap way out of proportion – Gunnar has been busy with other musical pursuits, including work for the Los Angeles Theater Company, the Minnesota Opera, and National Public Radio. Along the way he recorded the 13 songs (and 3 bonus tracks available through a Bandcamp pre-order) that range from straightforward to curious to tributary ("Riders on the Storm" remade as "Egg Salad in the Sun").

A foodie residing in the little-known hamlet of Berkeley, California, Gunnar announces his intentions right out of the bread basket, rustling up an appetite in "10,000 Pancakes." If you've ever wondered what a cow might sing, "Divine Bovine" answers that question with a whistling shuffle. Three guest stars deliver numbers solidly within their pantheon – Bill Harley with the giggly, icky "Liver," Frances England on the fanciful, fictional "City of Sardines," and Justin Roberts gets the last word relating a holiday tale, "The Longest Night," about a big Thanksgiving family dinner.

Gunnar reaches Tower of Power territory with the brassy, snazzy "Food Too Fast" and channels Redbone and Randy Newman for the forlorn "Lunch Is in a Paper Bag," as a student dreams of an actual lunch box. "Shelf Life" uses food expiration to serve as a parable to living life to the fullest before you "go to waste." Perhaps the most fanciful track, however, is the ethereal "City of Sardines," with its saga of a rainfall of fish that saves a starving Japanese province.

Full disclosure: I am unfamiliar with Gunnar's earlier children's work. He took a break just as I was getting into the medium as a reviewer. For those waiting for him to return, the CD may play as a continuation of his preceding discography. I AM YOUR FOOD stands apart from most of this year's releases, on its own merits, as one of the most intriguing (and aurally edible) of 2018. Bon appetit!

I AM YOUR FOOD is available on June 15 from Gunnar Madsen's website, Soundcloud, Amazon, Bandcamp, and iTunes.

Here is the video for Gunnar's song, "10,000 Pancakes":