It’s rare to come across an all-female group on the indie music scene. Girl-and-boy duets are a dime a dozen, and most popular acts are comprised of males only. But Dum Dum Girls prove to be an exception. Not only are all members female, but they’ve gained quite a following since emerging onto the scene.
Lead singer Dee Dee (she is rarely listed with a last name) writes honest, nostalgic dream pop, but with a girl gang vibe. Dum Dum Girls released a self-titled EP in 2009 full of songs written during Dee Dee’s teenage years, and it has a decidedly throwback kind of feel. Their first full-length album, I Will Be, came out in 2010 with a matured sound and a departure from lo-fi. “Jail La La” could easily be a song by Crocodiles or The Creeps, if they only had a lead female vocalist.
Only In Dreams marked their second full-length album, released last year. Dum Dum Girls have a remarkable way of handling slow-moving ballads and upbeat pop with the same finesse. This is most obviously exemplified with two standout tracks from Only In Dreams: “Coming Down” and “Bedroom Eyes.”
“Coming Down” is a melancholic song that likens coming off a drug to leaving a lover. “You abuse the ones who love you,” she croons, “You abuse the ones who won’t.” But upon listening to “Bedroom Eyes,” any sense of heartache is quickly replaced with a more carefree mood. You might even have the sense that you’re reading a teen magazine from the 1960’s.
It’s this kind of unexpected versatility that rendered Only In Dreams a staple of many year-end lists, and ultimately put Dum Dum Girls on the map.
