First impressions again. Just looking at the design of the cover told me that this 12" EP would probably be a homage of some sort. A blast from a past not yet created, if you like. Spotting that Richard Gotteherer and Sun Rose Wagoner had sat in the producer chair (or probably a settee as those boys won’t come cheap) and I could tell just what the Dum Dum Girls would sound like.
Indeed, there were few sonic surprises. The Dum Dum Girls still sound lo-fi even if they aren’t actually lo-fi anymore for buried beneath the fuzzy guitars and echoing drums there now beats a sentimental heart and some intelligently constructed mainstream songs. Sure enough, “Wrong Feels Right” does evoke early Blondie but that isn’t a bad thing in my book. “He Gets Me High, however, raises the bar with grungy phased guitars weaving underneath Dee Dee’s near angelic voice taking the song all the way to psyched out post sixties pop success. Or at least it should if there were any justice left in the world.
“Take Care of my Baby” takes the slow train but sounds so sweet that you can’t help but sway in the warm breeze of its Brill Building sensibilities. However, I’m not quite sure if throwing in a by the numbers cover of The Smiths’ “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” was such a good idea. Then again, the path to success is paved to hide the fact you are following in someone else’s footsteps.
So, civilisation comes to the Dum Dum Girls. Now less untidy and less frenetic, they remain true to their roots even if there are now clear signs of polish. Does success now beckon for the Dum Dum Girls? It just might.