Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams (Sub Pop)

I’ve been following the Los Angeles-based band Dum Dum Girls since early 2010 when I first heard their debut full-length I Will Be. Since then, I’ve been dutifully following them through several singles and split releases and have caught up on most of their back catalog as well. Earlier this year, they put out the “He Gets He High” 12”. It was four songs that were not only far and away better than what they’d done before (keep in mind that I really liked I Will Be), but as it turned out, just a hint of the greatness to come. Make no mistake about it, this album is great. In this day and age when everything and anything is available instantly, it’s easy to listen to something once or twice and then move on to something else. When I started listening to this album, I couldn’t stop playing it. Weeks later, I STILL can’t stop playing it. It’s that good.

So why is it so good? Well, for starters, Dee Dee is a GREAT songwriter. Songs like “Bedroom Eyes” and “Heartbeat” have melodies and hooks that will stick in your head for hours. Also, she’s a fantastic singer with a vocal style that some have likened to Chrissie Hynde in The Pretenders during their early ’80s glory days. One couldn’t really tell that from their early releases, but she finally showed this to the world on “He Gets Me High”.

Thankfully, with Richard Gottehrer (who produced I Will Be and co-produced “He Gets Me High”) and Sune Rose Wagner of The Raveonettes (who also co-produced “He Gets Me High”) behind the helm, this is enhanced even more so on Only in Dreams. Of course, some old fans will complain that this album is less noisy and distorted and perhaps even less energetic than its predecessor. I think this misses the point, though. Whatever they now lack in feedback is made up for in spades by the combination of the tunes, Dee Dee’s impassioned vocals and the lyrical content. This is an album about missing her husband while she’s out on the road and about the death of her mother as well. Instead of a somber affair, though, Only in Dreams is an intense, at times frightening journey into Dee Dee’s head. In “In My Head”, she misses her lover so much that she just stays in bed. On “Teardrops on my Pillow” and “Coming Down”, the sense of loss is so palpable that you can feel it through the grooves and the speakers as the music blares. Though no one would confuse Dee Dee for Sharon Jones, this is modern-day soul music for fans of the current crop of noise-tinged, girl-fronted indie-pop groups that have come about in the last few years. I’m simply floored and can’t wait to hear what they do next. I’m a bit worried that they may never recapture this magic, but of course I hope I’m wrong.