Track Listing

1. Moon Over the Freeway
2. Angel with an Attitude
3. Fall Awake
4. Aluminum Can
5. Fish to Fry
6. In the Meantime
7. It's a Shame
8. Waking Up in the City
9. Growing Upside Down
10. Get Up 'n' Go
11. Bye Bye Love
12. Nosy Neighbor
13. Your Head's Too Big

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #116656 in Music
• Released on: 2006-05-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .9 pounds

Customer Reviews

Shining "Moon"
The Ditty Bops stalwartly ignored the typical pop conventions in their self-titled debut -- and they continue ignoring in "Moon Over the Freeway," their second album of jazzy folky ragtimey cabaret pop.

This time around, the Ditty Bops try out some new sounds -- blues and country rear their heads every now and then -- without losing their enchanting sound or their catchy li'l melodies. In other words, this original duo does not have any signs of a sophomore slump.

The title track starts off the album with visions of summer nights melting into autumn, road trips, and fun with your friends. "Moon over the freeway catch us as we ride/We just left the city, left it far behind/Silhouettes of palm trees, airplanes cross the moon/Living in the moment of the girl who left too soon," they croon over the banjo and guitar.

That whole cheerful-folky sound continues with "Angel with an Attitude" ("I've got a chip on my shoulder/and a halo on my head!"), before changing to a more meditative, slow-moving sound in the languid "Fall Awake," and a string of bluesy, soft-edged little folk ballads.

By the middle, they're dabbling in country-western flavours in the jazz pop, before fortunately switching back to the psych-folk of "Growing Upside Down," ragtime dance numbers, and a trio of folky numbers that finish up with the accordion-pop of "Your Head's Too Big," which I will have to send to my ex-boyfriend.

Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald are getting a lot more attention with their second album, courtesy of a song on "Grey's Anatomy." Well, they richly deserve the mainstream attention -- their pop music is rich in creativity and talent, and even their least imaginative songs (I just don't like country, okay?) are still solid and enjoyable.

Amanda and Abby create a number of haunting, earthy little melodies that are filled up with every instrument their songs can handle -- guitars, banjos, toy piano, tambourine, mandolin, dulcimer, accordion and what sounds like old hand bells.

They also mishmash different styles, which creates sounds like country with a cabaret flair, or jazz with a folk edge. That offbeat sound carries over into their vocals, which are almost harmonized perfectly. Their pretty voices are just out of sync enough for you to notice that there are two of them.

The best part is the songwriting -- no fluff or cliches in these songs, just good solid songwriting with a witty, surreal edge, and a knack for producing memorable imagery. For example, in one the girls muse that "Your head's too big/It grows like a balloon... And if you're unluckier than that/Someone such as myself might come along/And it just might pop." Top that breakup song.

The Ditty Bops continue turning out wonderful music in "Moon Over the Freeway," and make them one of THE new-ish bands to listen to. Delightful.

Album Number 2 for the irresistible Ditty Bops
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Following on from their eponymous first CD this sparkling release continues on with similar inventiveness and vigour. From the word go we get the precociously gifted sound the Ditty Bops have made their own. Always entertaining and uplifting these songs contain intelligent lyrics and the kind of hooks that stay in your mind for ages. These hooks don't nag or bother, they're just blissful.

Their natural songwriting seems as instinctive and true as The Beatles. But the Ditty Bops are an entity to themselves and it's hard to draw direct comparisons with anyone else. It's almost as if this music was always written, it's just now that you've heard it for the first time.

I have all of their releases and some live stuff too and almost everyone I play it to find it irresistible. They're not known here and in a way that's nice. At some point they'll turn up on Jools Holland's show and people will start to really pick up on Abby De Wald and Amanda Barrett.

Get in there first. Let some sunshine into your life. You didn't think people wrote and performed stuff like this anymore but they do.