Review of The Toy Box from Aquarius Records

Good things come in threes, and this new release by Twink is the proof in the puddin'! Three lil' three inch cds in a wee cardboard box! One features seven tunes played on a pling plong. In case you're wonderin' "What the heck is that?" Well, according to the liner notes it is "a small mechanical instrument resembling the innards of a music box. Pieces are composed for it by punching holes in long cards, and feeding the cards through the instrument by turning a handle. The card's holes trigger metallic tines to produce notes." Another disc is titled "Small Sound All Around" and contains eight delirious, circus-y songs played on an array of uncommon sound makers such as toy sitar, toy pianos and bamboo xylophone, as well as some slightly more common ones such as contrabass clarinet, melodica, ukulele, chimes and mandolin, and finally the totally common guitars, bass, trumpet and keyboards. The third 3" is a particular fave of a few of us around here right now. It's called "Welcome To The Jingle" and yes, its highlight is the cello'n'chimes cover of "Enter Sandman"! Oh and to top it all off there's also a wee picture book starring the same bunny from Twink's last release which was a delightfully twisted children-style picture book with cd.