The Dum Dum Girls won’t get many points for originality.
There, I got that out of the way – the obvious point that people are going to make. Sure you’ve heard many of these ideas before – fifties rock’n’roll, sixties girl groups and garage punk, seventies punk attitude, eighties indie and nineties shoegaze. Yet, it’s the freshness of the approach that startles here. If you’re going to get hung up on the concept of originality the whole time with music you’re going to miss a whole heap of pleasure.
The Dum Dum Girls, lead by Dee Dee have a real love of classic pop music (Check their covers of the Stones ‘Playing With Fire ‘ – the b-side to ‘Jail La La’ and this album’s cover of Sonny Bono’s ‘Baby Don’t Go’) and they’ve arrived with their debut long-player hot on the heels of quite a few acts taking advantage of c86-style indie pop’s current reappearance from the underground (see also Vivian Girls, Best Coast, Girls and most obviously, the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart). The first single ‘Jail La la’ you’ve hopefully heard by now, and gives a good idea of what to expect.
But it’s not just the uptempo numbers; ‘Blank Girl’ is a good example of how they can do heartbreaking, weepy numbers that reaffirm your faith in pop music even as it’s breaking you heart. The album’s barely more than thirty minutes long and in doing so, it’s got no flab, just sheer fun, fun, fun.
Oh – and if you buy it on vinyl, it’s got a really nice marble and black effect (and free downloads). Support your local record shop.
