So I open up my review package and find a copy of the Okee Dokee Brothers latest release, Can You Canoe? The first thing I think is that this is probably a kids album. Open it up, pop out the CD, throw it into my computer and throw my headphones on. My first impressions, I love it.

Now I’m a huge supporter of kids music. Time after time I am blown away by some of the performers out there that make kids music because, in a sense, it’s not really just kids music. The amount of effort put into it and the amount of skill involved in how it's delivered deviates from the old kids music I used to have to endure. It's passionate and fun and exciting. Now, weather or not this album is a kids album is all up to you, I think technically it is. By the time I listened to it for the tenth time all I heard was some really fantastic music with a great folk narrative at it’s core that offered up songs about getting back to nature, but in a fun non-preachy way.

Loaded with some sweet banjo, guitar, Dixieland piano, and wonderfully harmonious singing there just wasn’t a song on the entirety of the album that I would even think about skipping. It’s accessible stuff because it’s so narrative and funny and laid back. It’s as if your listening to some friends play guitar and tell you stories about their trip down the Mississippi. There is plenty to feel a connectivity with such as camping, swimming, and goofing around, but at its core it just makes you want to get outside and enjoy yourself the way you did when you were kids and you were out with family on a camping trip. I really liked the vocals on the album which often times reminded me of Johnny Boyd and the duo’s use of harmony is excellently done to give it that mountain hop flavor. 15 tracks all together and all of them make for a fantastic musical journey for listeners of all ages.

Another awesome part of the release is a 40+ minute DVD that chronicles the Okee Dokee Brothers canoe trip on the Mississippi (apparently the boys really did go on a canoe trip while making the album). The DVD has some songs from the album in music video form but also a lot of fun in-between moments that feature small mini-instructional video’s that are hilarious, some fun camping moments where the boys stuff marshmallows into their mouths and attempt to speak, and just all around tomfoolery. It was an absolute bonus to be able to see the trip and hear some of the raw material that was put onto the album. It also gives a heightened sense of wanting to go out enjoy nature a bit more. Simply great stuff.

Finally the CD comes with a field journal (liner notes) that has some day to day observations from Justin and Joe about their experiences on the river and off. Some of these inserts come to life in the DVD so that’s pretty cool. So weather or not you’re a kid or an adult you’ll want to hear this album, see the DVD, and quite possibly head out on your own outdoor adventure inspired by this fantastic album. Really, it is a must own. Enjoy.