Father/son/robot trio Battlebird drops its first album

Aussie electronic garage band Battlebird has just dropped its first album, and it’s out of this world cool.

If you’ve never heard of Battlebird, today is your lucky day. Billed as the “galaxy’s finest, time travelling, space-hopping, pop-rocking kids’ band,” Battlebird’s music is that perfect mix of music that’s fun for kids, and good for grown-ups too. It’s so good in fact, we promise you’ll never pretend to lose the CD. The new album “Life is Good” is packed with great tracks that take clear inspiration from 90s Beck and old school Beastie Boys.

The band is an unlikely trio if we’ve ever seen one: there’s Lucky Luke, his eight-year-old son Elliot “The Kid,” and DJ Scooter, their robot DJ and hype man. That the Beastie Boys are an influence isn’t surprising – Luke is a musician who’s been in plenty of bands, as well as a supporting act to the hip hop legends themselves.

Battlebird’s music is a bit gritty, full of whining guitar, electronic effects and distorted vocals. Being a kids’ band, the lyrics mention poprocks and doughnuts so often, you might start to crave a sugar binge.

The 12 track album comes with a DVD with five music videos. In front of a backdrop of DIY robot wallpaper, dad and son bounce to crazy beats, dad always clad in a space helmet, and son wearing street skater clothes that wouldn’t be out of place in an Alphabet Soup lookbook.

Although Battlebird’s musical style is right in tune with the garage rock zeitgeist, its beginnings are humble and sweet. Elliot was having trouble fitting in at school, which was heartbreaking for his dad. Remembering how music once brought him out of his shell, Luke started making music with Elliot, recording tracks and videos on his phone and laptop. Before long they’d recorded a few EPs and were performing live at the Moruya Arts Festival to a crowd of 200 people. Elliot’s class joined them on stage.

Without asking Elliot himself we can’t say for sure, but it seems like he’s a pretty confident kid these days. And for those moments when he feels shy – we all have them – he’s got his dad and DJ Scooter to back him up.

The Battlebird CD and DVD is on ABC for $14.99.