Jon Langford is a Mekon, a solo artist, a contributor to This American Life — and now, apparently, Cyril the Karaoke Squirrel, front man for Wee Hairy Beasties, an animal-fixated Western swing outfit thumping their tubs for the young of the species. Vintage-voiced songbird Kellie Hogan and Langford's fellow Mekon Sally Timms (performing here as Monkey Double Dippey) lend further pedigree to the group's irresistible debut, Animal Crackers. Parents weary of the usual barnyard suspects will appreciate the emphasis on cuttlefish, flies, newts and other under-sung inhabitants of the wild kingdom. There's some concern that kiddies might grow up thinking Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy" is a rip-off of the Beasties' "I'm an A.N.T.," but this risk is more than balanced by the pleasant knowledge that they'll recognize Langford's unmistakable Welsh growl. A certain 6-year-old of my acquaintance found that the title track gave him "crazy running-around sugar energy, like from a triple-decker ice cream cone." I could use some of that myself. — Ayun Halliday