Let the Wild Rumpus Start!

The leading lady from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs knows exactly how to have fun in her side project Karen O and The Kids. Her soundtrack for “Where the Wild Things Are” is exactly on point. She knows that happy medium when it comes to her music. Karen O and The Kids actually have children singing along to this folksy and fantastical album, which takes you on an adventure from start to finish.

The soundtrack’s headlining song, “All Is Love,” is unquestionably best song on it. It starts off slow and soft before a sudden boom of “1, 2, ready GO!” The children’s chanting and screams that follow make this a very natural, kids at the park kind of play song.  As quickly as that energy comes, it’s soon lost. “Worried Shoes” shows a softer size of the album as Karen O almost sings in a lullaby-like whisper: “I made a mistake that I never forgot/Tied knots in the laces of my worried shoes/Every step that I take is another mistake/I march further and further away in my worried shoes.”

Even without watching the movie, you can imagine the story the songs portray. In some tracks, like “Rumpus,” they even have clips from the movie. You can hear the crowning of the king and the big festivities that follow, completed by the joyous children’s chorus with Karen leading the pack. They make this an overall whimsical trip that is constantly changing with the story. You can feel the tension and strength in the song “Animal,” where even Karen lets out a gut wrenching scream at the beginning leading in to the children screaming, alongside all kinds of acoustic instruments and chaotic noises leading all the way to animals howling in the end.

Karen O is one of the very few who can adapt to many different kinds of things and is able to warp her voice in so many ways. Alongside her creativity, she manages to create this wonderful masterpiece that, like “Where the Wild Things Are” itself, is enjoyable for parents and kids alike.