If you were to throw Debbie Harry, Karen O and Patti Smith into a blender and flick the ‘on’ switch, you’d come close to replicating the spirit and kinetic energy of Dee Dee, leader of Los Angelean quartet Dum Dum Girls.
Sophomore effort Only In Dreams finds Dee Dee and friends in confident mood. ‘Always Looking’ sets the tone with femme fatale swagger and the kind of guitar licks that would make Quentin Tarantino’s heart pound, while the lonely lament of ‘Bedroom Eyes’ and the sarcastic twang of ‘Just A Creep’ add a suitably caustic charm.
Musically, repetition is strategically employed (it’s no exaggeration to state that four of the ten tracks on offer start exactly the same way) but given the retro stylings on show, it adds to the overall aura that Dum Dum Girls are trying to create.
Still, repetition does tend to wear thin so it’s perhaps wise that Only In Dreams reaches its climax just shy of 34 minutes. Despite its brevity, the album has a curious tendency to feel quite languid in parts. A welcome attempt to stray from the formula results in the album’s highlight, the stunning ‘Coming Down’. At a quite methodical six-and-a-half minutes, it’s very much the runt of the litter, but there is beauty in its patience, and in Dee Dee’s very real heartbreak (the track was written shortly after the death of the singer’s mother). Whether baring her soul or simply rocking out, she’s a star, in dreams or otherwise.