Goodness gracious! For a second there I could have sworn that Debbie Harry was once again in her late 20s, that Blondie were still a pop force to be reckoned with, and that there’s still a place in this crazy, mixed-up, messed-up, shuffle-shuffle world for an album that doesn’t last longer than 32 minutes!
Co-produced by former Blondie producer (and classic Brill Building songwriter) Richard Gottehrer and Sune Rose Wagner of The Raveonettes, Too True is delivered with a full, lipsticked kiss on the cheek and a knee to the groin.But, then, that's the Dum Dum Girls' style.
What began some six years ago as a cottage-industry project for LA native, New York resident Dee Dee Penny – aka Kristen Gundred – has slowly turned into something of an abiding sensual/gritty pastime. It hasn't always been plain sailing. Noted for her bouts of solitariness, Dee Dee (the Ramones association is far too obvious to ignore) has mined her love of music and heartache for her own good, which is why Too True's initial narcoleptic edge is, over the course of 10 songs, transformed into something that's close enough to a lifeline.
Yes, the music directly bows to its influences (from aforementioned Blondie to Velvet Underground, Suede, Stone Roses, Ramones and Siouxsie & Banshees). But Penny has the smarts to stamp her singular identity over everything that comes her way. And while there’s nothing here that would perplex lecturers in math rock, you have to applaud how she creates wonderful earworm results from such simplistic ingredients.
Which, ultimately, is where and how Dum Dum Girls triumph. From garage-pop opener Cult of Love to hypnotic closer Trouble Is My Name, here be superb examples of sublime subterranean pop music. The references are impeccable, the re-envisioning is authentic, and the motto is this: think yum, not dumb. wearedumdumgirls.com
Download: Are You Okay?, Under These Hands, Too True to Be Good, Trouble Is My Name
