Imagine the B-52s crossed with Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters and Mork from Ork – that’s Lard Dog and the Band of Shy. L.A.R.D. is short for “Life’s a real dream” and is the imaginative creation of artist Steven Erdman. Joined by “Honey Babe” Kendy Gable and the Band of Shy, their debut album, “Life’s a real dream” bursts with a creative spontaneous melodic insanity that is truly something to behold.
So how does a Full Van Fun review work? Each member of the family listens to each song and scores it as AWESOME, average, or not awesome. We total up the scores for each song as well as the whole album (e.g. if everyone in the family scores every song as AWESOME, then the album would be 100% AWESOME, if everyone scores every song as average, it would be 50% AWESOME, etc.).
The Songs We Liked
- Life is Like a Noodle (100% AWESOME) – A slippery sliding audio treat that is the first song we’ve ever heard that combines noodles, oatmeal, and philosophy – a winner!
- Life’s A Real Dream (93% AWESOME) – A slight departure from the quirkiness of the rest of the album, this sweet harmonious ukulele driven tune perfectly captures the heart of Lard Dog and the Band of Shy.
- Do the Pooky Do (88% AWESOME) – A groovy retro dance tune that will make everyone “do the pooky do”.
The Songs We Didn’t
- He’s Plop Treat Him Nice (36% AWESOME), He’s Ploop (43% AWESOME), When You’re Shy (43% AWESOME) – all of these songs scored lower because of Lard Dog “fatigue”. Listening to the full album is crazy, cool, quirky, but after awhile, a little tiring.
NOTE: While we did have some Lard Dog “fatigue” near the end of the album, we think it’s totally different story for one of their live shows. From their many videos on YouTube, a Lard Dog live show looks really fun and the fusion of action, imagery, and music could make it really engaging for adults and children alike.
Final Score
Overall, we give Lard Dog and the Band of Shy’s debut a solid 68% AWESOME (in other words, almost 3.5 out of 5 stars). “Life’s a real dream” is a unique treasure and adding in a few songs from Lard Dog would immediately brighten and sillify any playlist or soundtrack. Also, if you ever get the opportunity to see them live, definitely don’t miss it!
If you haven’t yet, you might be interested in some of our other album reviews and #8isEnoughQuestions interviews with artists like Gustafer Yellowgold, Frances England, Sugar Free Allstars, Mista Cookie Jar, The Not Its, Mike Phirman, Danny Weinkauf of They Might Be Giants, Turkey Andersen, Lucky Diaz and Alisha Gaddis, Bryan Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe, Josh and the Jamtones, Play Date, Recess Monkey, Andrew and Polly, Greg Page (Original Yellow Wiggle), Rissi Palmer, Jim Cosgrove, and Tim Kubart.
Disclosure: Full Van Fun was provided a copy of the album for possible review.
