Seattle Subsonic

Dum Dum Girls Defy Expectations

June 21st, 2010

I wasn’t exactly smitten with Dum Dum Girls the first time I heard them, passing them off as just another harmony-heavy, Spector-esque, Go-Go girl band with a love for fuzz pedals and filthy fun. I thought the market had been tapped with the similar-sounding Vivian Girls, whose self-titled debut turned out to be pretty kick-ass if you gave it a fighting chance. Plus, I already loved the Raveonettes, whose salty lyrics and sugary, reverb-soaked guitars bear some contemporary resemblance to this band. The market is never tapped, however, and even though comparing the dark-eyed, red-lipped L.A. garage pop band to the Vivian Girls and the Raveonettes is pretty unoriginal, it makes sense for a music culture that often welcomes, and feeds off, like-minded acts. On the quartet’s first album from Sub Pop, I Will Be, the immediacy of the songs comes from the hazy, almost haunting hooks baked into near every track and propelled by pulsing snare hits, the latter courtesy of ex-Vivian Girl Frankie Rose. (The former comes mostly from lead Dum Dum Dee Dee on guitar and vocals.) These are well-worn elements of successful pop rock songs and the Dum Dum Girls do it exceptionally well.

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I have to say, though, that I really began to take notice and enjoy I Will Be when it reminded me quite fondly of another smarmy Sub Pop band: the Vaselines. You’ll recall a quaint geek-out session I had with their celebrated reunion last spring. The two bands don’t share a ton in common when it comes to lyrics (who can possibly match the Vaselines’ vulgar wit?), but the sweet, blissful harmonies and tight, sloppy guitars the two utilize are certainly sonic kin. Bonus note: the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Nick Zinner plays on the malt-shop anthem “Yours Alone”. SCORE. So if shrewdly-executed bubblegum guitar pop delivered by four good-lookin’ gals is your thing, then give ‘em a whirl. Below is the recent video for “Bhang Bhang, I’m A Burnout”. You can get a few .mp3′s over at the band’s Sub Pop page.

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The Dum Dum Girls will be playing the High Dive with the Jesus & Mary Chain-loving psychedelic spazzoids in Crocodiles Saturday, June 26th.