The Doubleclicks are a comedic musical duo from Portland, Oregon. The pair of sisters, Angela and Audrey Webber, combine their ukulele and cello with a whole lot of charm to produce delightfully nerdy tunes for their geeky audience.
I first learned of The Doubleclicks while listening to the Going Last gaming podcast, another Portland-based creation. Their song about Dungeons and Dragons (entitled “This Fantasy World”) was particularly fitting for the show, and I was instantly hooked. Since then I have had the pleasure of seeing The Doubleclicks live inside a comic book shop, and after that it was a no-brainer to get their entire album.
So what makes “Chainmail and Cello” so great? The short answer is that it’s 15 tracks worth of sheer nerditude. From the opening track, “OH, Mr. Darcy,” to the very last, they sing about topics that touch on every aspect of geek culture. From Star Trek to D&D to grammar, the sisters sprinkle in a little bit of something for everyone.
Their sound is definitely indie; the combination of ukulele and cello isn’t something I’ve heard before. Both sisters have great voices and they harmonize quite well. Regardless of what your preferred musical genre might be, they have an appeal that crosses boundaries and enough silliness to make them an enjoyable listen even if the style isn’t normally your favorite. I find them to be a bit like Jonathan Coulton in that way.
Though you get 15 tracks with “Chainmail and Cello,” the songs are rather short, with most of them falling into the 2-minute range. Unfortunately that means the album isn’t very long, but there’s plenty of replay value to make it worth your while. The album is also available to listen to on websites like Spotify, Bandcamp, and even Google Play Music, so there are plenty of places to listen to it for free (or as part of a subscription) while still supporting the artists who created it.
Some highlights of the album include:
“Spock Impersonator,” a song about searching for love at a Star Trek convention; “Apostrophe,” about the troubled life of this misunderstood punctuation mark; “Clever Girl,” a song about velociraptors that must be heard to be understood; “Worst Superpower Ever,” which is self-explanatory; “Ironically,” which is about falling in love with a hipster, and “This Fantasy World,” a song about falling in love with a D&D player. Those may all be highlights, but they’re by no means the only great songs on the album; it’s a blast from start to finish.
If you’re into silly, geeky music, you need to check out The Doubleclicks. They’re fun and talented, which is a perfect combination for a super duo like the Webber sisters. Give them a listen and let us know what you think in the comments.
Chainmail and Cello Track List
- Oh, Mr. Darcy
- Spock Impersonator
- The Nerdy Birthday Song
- Apostrophe
- No Easy Way
- Clever Girl
- The Way I Glow
- The Internet National Anthem
- Don’t You Love Me?
- Will They Or Won’t They?
- Worst Superpower Ever
- A Lullaby For Mr. Bear (Adult Version)
- A Song About Eve Online
- Ironically
- This Fantasy World (Explicit)
Jacob Wood
Jacob is a long-time role-player and recently self-published game designer. His mission is to bring the joy of hobby gaming to everyone, including (especially) people with disabilities. He can also be found at Accessible Games.
A similar indie group that I really enjoy is CossbySweater who recently released their first album after a successful IndieGogo campaign. The D&D song from that album is called ‘Tonight’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaOiZba5KGo)
I listened to one of the The Doubleclicks songs, then another, then another. It was like some sort of hypnotism. If I’m ever near one of their performances, I’ll definitely go see them.