It may be a pretentious and pretty unintelligible word but “shoegaze” is the best way to describe the sound coming from Dum Dum Girls' new album. The sound is thick, full of guitar and layers of crackly pedals. What saves it from tipping into muddy waters is the constant presence of a killer rhythm section. Every song makes you tap your foot.
The unavoidable comparison is with The Long Blondes, lead singer Kristen Grunden (Dee Dee) has the same strident, deep and rich voice as Kate Jackson. The songs are not as poppy but they are a similar mix of instantly catchy tunes with a sing a long vibe. Where the comparison falls down is the lyrics, The Long Blondes were marvellously witty, bitchy and poignant, Dum Dum Girls are happy to stick to formulaic and predicable sweet nothings, generally informed by rhyme rather than reason. “But you act so sweet, and you don’t cut deep, you’re just a little creep.” Dee Dee does cite Gabriel Dante Rosetti as the inspiration behind the single 'Bedroom Eyes' so maybe she has higher aspirations.
“Thin are the night-skirts left behind By daybreak hours that onward creep, And thin, alas! the shred of sleep That wavers with the spirit’s wind: But in half-dreams that shift and roll And still remember and forget, My soul this hour has drawn your soul A little nearer yet.”
Stand out songs include the jingly and lovely In 'My Head'. Summer may be over but this is a slice of beautiful beach happiness, surf sounds, Shangrila-like crooning and choruses, yum. Another highlight is come-down classic... 'Coming Down'. You can literally feel the drug-addled brain trying to recover. It has echoes of The Velvet Underground’s 'Heroin', with a similar beat and pulse, but it is altogether more dreamy and sorrowful. There is a delicious layer of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Just Like Honey stuck in there too. One to wrap up in a duvet for.
The record label boasts that this album shows a maturing artist at work and that the singer’s recent brush with death (her mother) makes this a deeper and more meaningful piece of work than the first. I don’t know about deep and meaningful but this is a rich and truly enjoyable album, one that breathes and develops with each repeated listen.