Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams

by Paul Waller

published: 11 / 10 / 2011

Label: Sub Pop
Format: CD

intro

Competent yet often over obvious second album from Californian all girl quartet, the Dum Dum Girls

I was pretty wrapped up in the spunkiness of the Dum Dum Girls debut record. The brash production couldn’t have been more indie, as in mid 80’s jangly indie. Tunes like 'Jail La La' rekindled the days of C86 without wallowing in the past. They took the best bits of what was and turned it into what it should be. Unfortunately whilst the group were not exactly overlooked the band's hype was somewhat overshadowed by the new wave of some scene or other and bands like the admittedly pretty damn cool, Best Coast. On 'Only in Dreams' the Californian all girl quartet have made a pretty credible follow up. It’s so utterly an obvious second album though. The songs are all properly written, middle eights are present and correct, the production is richer and fuller and the pace of the songs is just that bit slower. The band’s lofty ambitions of becoming a modern day Shangri-La’s could have come true if only the band had an absolute killer single on here. Unfortunately they don’t. The likes of 'Teardrops on My Pillow', 'Always Looking' and the pretty majestic 'In My Head' all deserve to be hit records in their own right when you compare them to the likes of those original C86 bands but it’s only on the final track 'Hold Your Hand' where I am taken aback and totally feel this album or rather what this album could have been. Singer Dee Dee wrote the song shortly after the death of her mother and it’s a heart-breaking moment when she reveals that she’d “do anything to bring her back.” It’s the one time on the album that the band visit the 60’s in style rather than the 80’s and you know what, there is a real Phil Spector ambiance on this final moment. I wish the record had more like this on it. Don’t get me wrong, a new Dum Dum Girls record is still an event in my house. I just don’t want them to lose that initial spark that made me love them in the first place.

Track Listing:-

1 Always Looking
2 Bedroom Eyes
3 Just A Creep
4 In My Head
5 Heartbeat (Take It Away)
6 Caught In One
7 Coming Down
8 Wasted Away
9 Teardrops On My Pillow
10 Hold Your Hand

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/DumDumGirls
http://www.wearedumdumgirls.com/
https://twitter.com/dumdumgirls
https://instagram.com/wearedumdumgirls
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZCw2vDqkW1KYTUdJzQFtIQ

Label Links:-

https://www.subpop.com/
https://www.facebook.com/subpoprecords
https://plus.google.com/+subpop
https://twitter.com/subpop
http://subpop.tumblr.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/subpoprecords

interviews

Interview (2010)

Los Angeles all girl band the Dum Dum Girls combine 60's vocal harmonies with an old school garage punk sound. Aaron Brown speaks to singer Dee Dee at a gig in Manchester about their debut album, 'I Will Be'

live reviews

Factory 251, Manchester, 13/11/2011

Aaron Brown at Factory 251 in Manchester finds, despite them coning on an hour and a half late, Californian girl group's garage punk charms winning him over

Cargo, London, 30/7/2010