If you’re a regular at the Fort Reno summer concert series, one thing you may have noticed over the years is the increasing presence of strollers, toddlers, and assorted children running around the field on Monday and Thursday evenings. Observant smokers in the Black Cat’s velvet roped sidewalk “smoker’s lounge” may similarly notice luminaries of D.C.’s hardcore punk past pulling up in – *gasp* – minivans. Punk rock is all grown up, and the formerly leather-jacketed youth brigades have started families of their own. But what’s a progressive and musically astute parent to do when perusing children’s entertainment is usually an exercise in avoiding cloying purple dinosaurs and shiny happy annoyances?

One alternative has been the fantastically fun, though still sadly rather obscure local children’s series, Pancake Mountain. Another is DeSoto Records‘ new various artists compilation, Play. The record, compiled over three years and featuring artists from Mudhoney to Mirah to Mary Timony (and some other artists not brought to you by the letter “M”) was released to iTunes and for online ordering this week, and appears in record stores May 22nd. The label says about it, “Finally, some actually cool music for cool kids.” And that about nails it.