Hey there Somethings!
If you’ve listened to our show (and… who hasn’t?) you know we’re fans of Bonnie Gordon and Xander Jeanneret, collectively known as “The Library Bards” (/jazzhands). Well, they’ve recently had the release of their second album “BomBARDed”, a follow up to their debut album “Bardcore”, and let me tell you.. this is an amazing and worthy follow up.
I grew up on the likes of “Wierd” Al and Doctor Demento, so for me, when it comes to parody songs, the bar is rather high, and I’m pleased to say “BomBARDed” delivers. One of the key things for me that makes a great parody song is the mixing of the parody lyrics into the original lyrics, and nothing is a better example of this than “Princess Bride”. The way Bonnie and Xander tell the story of the story while mixing the parody lyrics to those of “Mr. Brightside” feels not only flawless but natural.
Being a child of 80’s music, I also enjoyed the focus on music from that era. Using song such as AC/DC’s “TNT” and Styx’s “Come Sail Away” as the basis of “DnD” and “Come Fly Away” respectively really brought me back. “BomBARDed” also does an amazing job of touching a number of different (and overlapping) fandoms. Browncoat? Check (“Come Fly Away”). Trekkie? Done. (“Klingon”) Gamer? In to Comics? Want to clone dinosaurs? Check (“DnD”), check (“Comics Fan”) and check (“Welcome to Jurassic Park”). If you’re a sci-fi and/or pop culture fan, this album has something, and most likely multiple somethings, for you.
Not only do Bonnie and Xander show their musical ranges in styles and harmonies (I LOVE the way they growl out “DnD”, and their inter-song banter is amazingly spot on), but the music supplied by Bonecage and Sam Johnides does masterful job of staying amazingly true to the classics while adding enough of their own flourishes to make them fresh and original.
If you like great music, witty pop culture references and supporting independent artists, do yourself a favor and check out this album!
“BomBARDed” can be found at www.librarybards.bandcamp.com and at www.librarybards.com.
Follow The Library Bards on Twitter (@librarybards), Instagram (instagram.com/librarybards), Facebook (facebook.com/LibraryBards) and can also be found on Apple Music and YouTube
– PCR
