Dum Dum Girls, Too True, 2014

Album Review

Dum Dum Girls have been a favorite of mine over the last several years. I just like that they've got this style and persona -- black clothing, bangs, red lipstick, affected movements on stage -- and the songs to back it up. And reverb. Dee Dee's voice was made to be drenched in reverb.

On their third full-length, Too True, Dum Dum Girls drop much of the garage rock sound of their earlier work in favor of the cold, pristine, shimmering sounds of 1980s post-punk and proto-dream pop. Even a quick listen to Too True reveals the influence of Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Robert Smith, Siouxsie Sioux, and Ian McCulloch. Dee Dee's always had a great sense of what makes a good pop song, though; and Too True delivers a thirty-minute burst of melodramatic, goth lyricism bathed in Dee Dee's version of "chasing pop into the dark."

"Cult of Love" comes closest to early Dum Dum Girls with its surf-inspired sound, but the production is much cleaner than the band's earlier work, allowing us to hear the lyrics even through all the reverb. Dee Dee's songs are rarely very dense lyrically. She understands that economy works best in pop, but she almost always works in an attention-grabbing line. "Cult of Love" opens with "We touch beneath our skin / Right down to the bare wires," which I love.

I can't quite tell if "Rimbaud Eyes" is kind of an in joke, an acknowledgement of what listeners will be thinking when they hear how far into Smiths / Siouxsie Sioux 80s alternative Dum Dum Girls have taken their sound. It's mostly Dee Dee singing "You've got / Rimbaud Eyes" in between sections from Rimbaud's "The Drunken Boat" over some dark and gothy guitars. Whatever the intention, it's a standout on the record.

"Too True To Be Good" is the strongest track here for me. It's probably got the record's most upbeat riff, but with lyrics like "The clouds were opening above my head / Stood on the edge feeling so dead" it keeps to the overall feel of the album. And the way Dee Dee delivers "We're killing hours / We're killing time" instantly makes me think of Echo and The Bunnymen.

Lead single "Lost Boys and Girls Club," with its "How Soon Is Now?" riff and "Evil Blooms," with its "Why be good? / Be beautiful and sad" both revel in Smithian melodrama and affectation. Album-closer "Trouble Is My Name" carries on the Dum Dum Girls' tradition of closing things out with a moving slow-burner. The song's "I'm trouble / She's trouble" is kind of a summation of the whole record.

There's been a debate raging ("Raging" may be a little strong, but you get it.) here at CoolDad Music about retro sounds in current music. What it comes down to, I think, is whether the sounds are there simply to attract nostalgic listeners or to make a point. I think Dee Dee's making a point. She's using the cold, detached, and distant sounds of 80s post punk to give some of her lyrics -- "Daisy chains of love," "I'm looking for you, through lavender haze" -- the proper context, making them sound less strained. She's also using it to distance herself from herself, to allow herself to be introspective as an outsider if that makes any sense.

Some people may miss the rougher, lower fidelity version of Dum Dum Girls, but I think that Too True represents a really natural evolution for them. It almost takes the band's M.O. of substance with lots of style to the extreme; but, at a just about perfect thirty minutes, it's there and it's gone. You barely have enough time to change into all black before Dee Dee's "I'm trouble..." has faded into the ether.

Too True is out now on Sub-Pop.

The Walkmen, Dum Dum Girls at Terminal 5, New York, NY, October 18th, 2012

The Whole Package

One of the things that's often missing from a mindie rock show is theatricality.  Many times, I think there's either a conscious decision just to get up there and play or a genuine shyness by some of the performers that prevents them from doing anything but reproducing their songs live.  There isn't anything wrong with that.  In a way, it's part of the whole indie aesthetic; and, honestly, if I were a performer that's probably what I would do.

Sometimes, though, a band is the whole package of image and sound.  I got to see two bands last night that wrap their songs in the carefully cultivated images that they bring to their live shows.

There were actually three acts on the bill at last night's Terminal 5 show, and I don't want to leave Daughter out of the discussion.  The London-based trio definitely falls into the just play the music category.  Lead singer and guitarist / bassist Elena Tonra is shy and self-deprecating on stage, but she has a beautiful voice that swirls around her own as well as Igor Haefeli's (sometimes bowed) guitar.  Their songs included lots of slow builds and interesting noise.

Dum Dum Girls took the stage at around 8:45.  Each member was dressed in black.  Lead guitarist Jules and frontwoman / rhythm guitarist Dee Dee twisted in unison on many of the songs, their bangs bouncing back and forth with them.  Speaking of Dee Dee Penny, she is one of the most mesmerizing frontpeople in music.  Each movement appears carefully calculated:  the way she tilts her head, the way she strums a chord.  This, contrasted with the rest of the band's relative stoicism, gives the whole performance the theatrical feel I mentioned before.

And then there are the songs.  The reverb-y garage pop of songs like "Bhang, Bhang, I'm a Burnout" or "Bedroom Eyes" and selections from the band's excellent End of Daze EP like "Lord Knows" and "Season in Hell" sounded and looked great.  Unfortunately, since they were opening, their set ended too soon for me.

I've mentioned before that acts at Terminal 5 are prompt, and The Walkmen came out at just about the stroke of 10.  Lead singer Hamilton Leithauser was dressed in his usual dark suit and tie.  Leithauser is, himself, a distinctive frontperson.  At points in many of the songs, he rears back and lets loose with his high-pitched yell at a level that makes you wonder how he can do it night after night.  He points at the crowd to underline particular lines in the songs.  The band relies on vintage guitars, organ, and upright piano for their sound.  That sound is a jangling, kind of neo-surf coupled with Leithauser's distinctive vocal style.

During their ninety minute set, the band ran through all of the songs that have become mindie classics like "In the New Year," "Angela Surf City," "The Rat," and "We've Been Had" as well as some of the standout cuts from this year's Heaven like "Heaven," "Heartbreaker," and "We Can't Be Beat."  A full horn section joined the band for several songs including "Stranded" from 2010's Lisbon.  With the horns blaring, the drums pounding, the piano tinkling, the guitar jangling, and Leithauser giving it everything he had, you could imagine this music being played in the 40's or 50's; while, at the same time, you realized that the people of that time would have fallen over if they ever heard anything like it.

In all, it was a really great bill that contrasted the simple substance of an up and coming indie band like Daughter with the style of Dum Dum Girls and The Walkmen.  Both of those more established bands brim with the substance necessary to pull off their stylistic choices.

Music geek bonus:  I was able to snag one of the final two free 7" singles that The Walkmen gave out to 100 attendees, and I finally bought the clear-vinyl "Loser Edition" of End of Daze.

Support Your Local Record Store

If You Can...

The latest Dum Dum Girls EP, End of Daze, came out today.  I headed over to my local, independent record store like a good citizen; and, not unexpectedly, they didn't have it.

Sure, I could have told them to order it whenever I heard the news that this record was coming out, but I didn't.  So now I have to wait.  This is the problem.  You want to be a really cool cooldad and support local businesses and preserve the institution of the independently-run, local record store.  It's really impossible for them (or any business), though, to stock everything that everyone may want at any particular time.  Yeah, they can order it for you; but really, at that point, don't you just say, "I can do that myself?"

So, I'll head over to Sub-Pop or Insound and order myself a copy online (my laziness also caused me to miss out on the limited-run, clear vinyl "Loser Edition") and ponder the plight of brick and mortar businesses.

In the meantime, I will put this video on endless repeat; and Dee Dee's voice will make the waiting less painful.

New Dum Dum Girls

"Lord Knows"

I love Dum Dum Girls.  Their sound, their look.  Most of all, I really like Dee Dee's voice.  I think she's gotten more and more confident as a singer, just as the band's production has become more polished, with each release.

"Lord Knows" is the first taste of their upcoming End of Daze EP, due out on September 25th via Sub Pop.