It’s easy to forget what a new school year means to a kid. It’s new subjects, new friends, new clothes and new feelings. It’s endless possibility amidst a bundle of nerves. In short, it’s a lot, and with Rock & Roll Yearbook, Minneapolis’ The Bazillions have accomplished the seemingly impossible; an album that captures an entire school year in 12 infectious tracks.

A bit about the Bazillions:

Partners/parents Adam and Kristin Marshall turned songs they wrote for (and with) their students at Minneapolis’ Kenny School into full length albums, collaborating with members of their former band The Humbugs to create award-winning, genre-bending albums for parents and kids alike. The Bazillions’ sound is very clearly influenced by acts like the Kinks, Elvis Costello and the Monkees, full of harmonies, jangly guitars and explosive drum breakdowns. It’s surprisingly complex and proves the Marshall’s have as much love for the medium as they do for the audience they play it for.

The story behind Rock & Roll Yearbook is simple enough; a year in the life of a kid, starting with the first day of school (“Back at School”. Each song tackles a different lesson, event, emotion or combination of the three sequentially, moving through the year both through the passing of seasons and a growing maturity. And that level of detail shows the Bazillions have an especially nuanced understanding of what it’s like to be a kid in a new grade. There are simple joys of flashy new duds (“New Shoes”), or making great times with your friends even greater (“take turns”).

But then life isn’t always that simple and the Bazillions know that. In “That’s My Style”, the group paints a picture of a kid who wears socks that don’t match, has a friend who dances “like they have chickens living in their pants” and another who plays a weird instrument. The nuance here is the exploration of individuality and confidence. One of the things that comes flashing back here is that as a kid, my quirks (and I had many) were not always accepted by my classmates, and how damaging that often was. Here, the Bazillions are encouraging kids to own the qualities that make them different AND to accept the same in their friends. For parents wondering how to deal with kids who are being bullied (or kids who are bullying), this is a brilliant, insightful take.

But the crux of this album. The song that hits harder than any other, is “Keep Your Identity Safe”. You’d be hard pressed to find a lot of children’s music that’s melancholy, and maybe there’s good reason for that. I mean, most bands don’t want to effectively make children sad exactly, but the Bazillions seem to understand that for kids, life can be pretty sad sometimes. In this song, the narrator jogs through their fondest memories of their best friend; being super secret superheroes together throughout their short lifetimes. As the song progresses, it’s revealed that their friend is moving away. Again, having experienced that myself as a child, the Bazillions hit incredibly close to home, pinpointing the pain and the loss of knowing you’re heading into the future without your best friend next to you. The band uses the kids’ superhero personas to speak of the memories only best friends can share, and the dedication they have to one another – especially in a time of loss.

Rock & Roll Yearbook is a profound and emotionally complex album that hones in on the experiences that shape children – ones we often forget. It’s fun, funny, earnest and honest – never once trivializing or talking down to its listener. Moreover, the melodies are catchy but never purposely repetitive, proving how intimately familiar the Bazillions are with the artform and how much love they have for their audience.

You can buy Rock & Roll Yearbook here

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