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It doesn’t just take a lo-fi fan to like Dum Dum Girls. It might take a second listen through and some extra persuasion. Something about the record they’ve put out calls for some other visual that isn’t obtainable solely based on the music put into their latest record.
The way Only in Dreams opens alludes to a sort of The Runaways vibe. No other vintage sounds would cut right to the chase, wasting no time and engaging the listener off the bat. “Always Looking” will grab fans’ attention very quickly and keep them through the set, especially where there becomes a chanting sort of repetitive nature though each song.
You’re going to have to be in the right setting to turn this band on. Dum Dum Girls don’t produce homework music, party music or exercise beats. Rather, picture yourself on the commute to work or taking a walk when listening. Do with it what you please, but the tunes are manufactured for a particular place and time.
The band gets clever with its vocals here and there throughout the album. Dum Dum Girls offer a splash of banter back and forth in a few tracks, which adds another dimension to the templated nature of their album in entirety.
Especially where we see many energies on the record, particularly in “Coming Down” where it isn’t all lighthearted and fluffy. Here, the mood breaks down to only vocal and drum, a very low point on Only in Dreams that remained strong through its hollowness. This highlights a special side of the band that diversifies the entire album.
As a whole, Dum Dum Girls have produced something particularly uninspiring. There is no spunk nor spark to the music the band laid unto their work with Only In Dreams. It’s sad in the least depressing way: not because it can bring you to tears–that would be inspiring, but because its styling is dense, lifeless and transparent.
The most noticeable flaw along Only in Dreams is the band’s tendency to repeat a line. Often the tactic is cool in its ways of getting a point across or adding intensity during the peak or chorus of a song. Though this is their signature, it could get them labeled as one-trick ponies after this album makes its rounds. Each song sounds great by itself, but when given a full listen through, it’s obvious to pick out a pattern in the frameworks of every song.
Only in Dreams could use not just a facelift but also a taste of heart. One would think that the work of four women would lead to an inevitably lovey album, but this release is quite cold. There isn’t a musician-listener relationship that addresses a story being unfolded, but more so a musician-musician relationship. Now is this what making music is all about?
Dum Dum Girls make noise that’s quite their own. It’s a lovely trip to times when this was considered the classics of pop-rock. Today, it’s considered avant-garde. Funny how that works.
Dum Dum Girls – Only in Dreams Tracklist:
- “Always Looking”
- “Bedroom Eyes”
- “Just a Creep”
- “In My Head”
- “Heartbeat”
- “Caught in One”
- “Coming Down”
- “Wasted Away”
- “Teardrops on My Pillow”
- “Hold Your Hand”
