Covering all the Music You Didn't Know About Since '96

San Francisco based women’s vocal group Kitka should be proud of this gorgeous collection of children’s lullabies assembled with a passionate sense of music’s sweet side. It’s certainly appropriate that the fans of the women’s vocal group was at the center of the urging and inspiration for collaborating these intriguing set of songs. While most people find lullabies cutesy and something that a mother would sing while holding a child to her bosom, some may find these songs to be rather challenging, dark even. Culled from the same Eastern European heritage that brought us tales from the Brothers Grimm and Romania’s Dracula, “Cradle Songs” is the perfect release in the post-Halloween fall time frame. But the songs hailing from far reaches of the Ukraine, Georgia, Macedonia, Russia, and Armenia are powerful bites of prose and poetry that lyrical weave this way and that, refusing to be categorized but amazingly catchy all at once. This winter holiday season I urge you to bring a different set of musical traditions to the stereo with Kitka’s “Cradle Songs”, you’ll find a great conversation piece and a narrative worth repeating.