Artist The Verve Pipe

When its single “The Freshmen” debuted ahead of its album Villains in 1996, The Verve Pipe seemed like it was getting its big break. The band's soft echo of grunge at first did well on the charts, but fell off the radar as the '90s wore on. Though singer-songwriter Brian Vander Ark has been just as focused on his solo career in the years since 2001's Underneath, the band has found at least one unanticipated and decidedly non-mopey way to branch out. The 2009 release A Family Album veers into kid-friendly rock, complete with songs about cereal, birthday parties, and bedtime.

Updated 07/27/2010