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Dum Dum Girls : I Will Be
released on Sub Pop
reviewed by Genna Al Tai for GBH.tv
The Dum Dum Girls originally got their name playing around with the title “The Idiot” which was Iggy Pop’s debut track back in 1977. But do they have enough gusto to represent the naughtiness and mayhem that is Iggy Pop? Why, I believe they do. This “girl group” tears away from all the stereotypes associated with all (or mostly) female bands. They’re not too themed, not too hard, they’re just right.
I accidently went to go see the Dum Dum Girls when I (drunkenly) stumbled into a London pub on Pentonville road and I was quite pleasantly surprised. They were both bouncy and jaded. With their leathers and lipstick, the Dum Dum Girls have made an album that mixes the sweetness that is love and stories of nights spent in prison. There are a lot of comparisons made with New York’s Vivian Girls, but they’ve already toured a good part of both the US along with the UK and have made a name for themselves. Originally hailing from California, they bring a sort of smooth end relaxed edge to their music. Ringleader of the band Kristin Gundred, otherwise known as Dee Dee, apparently wanted I Will Be to be the very essence of a 1960s women’s prison. All in all, they did a pretty good job in that department.
Though the album is reminiscent of a time where Twiggy and the Beatles reigned supreme rulers of the universe, there are slight hints of waywardness in just a few of their songs, like “Jail La La” and “Bhang Bhang I’m a Burnout”. I Will Be definitely has its “girls gone bad” moments, with the pairing of beautifully collaborated vocals and lyrics like “covered in shit and high as a kite” in their “Jail La La”. It can be said that I Will Be is an album comprised of kitschy bubblegum pop, but has some meaningful undertones and real depth. Songs like “Rest of Our Lives” “Baby Don’t Go” remind the listener that this album is actually as sweet as it is coy and hilarious. Gundred has a duet with her husband Brandon Welchez in “Blank Girl” and the song is quite an emotional little number, with both musicians whispering the lyrics. On the other hand, “Lines of Her Eyes” and “Everybody’s Out” bring the album back to life with catchy choruses and some up to speed vocal collaborations.
What’s great about this album is that you could definitely see your mother humming along to these songs. But only if you’re mother was slightly bad ass and went to prison somewhere in her dark past. The only let down for the album was that they didn’t include their early single “Catholicked”, which was pretty amazing all to itself. That aside, I Will Be is a modern success with a lot of vintage flair.
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