Album Review: Brody Dalle - 'Diploid Love'

‘Diploid Love’ may be Brody Dalle’s first solo record, but she’s certainly no stranger to the music industry. Having been a part of two prominent bands, punks The Distillers, and alternative rock outfit Spinnerette. ‘Diploid Love’ however, shows a completely different side to the singer that hasn’t really been shown all that much before.

While the punk rock urgency and honesty is still here in spades, it’s also quite clear that Dalle is broadening her musicality, a perfect example of which is seen in the album’s second track, ‘Underworld.’ While the song sees Dalle giving an unsurprising vocal delivery to a blistering tempo, we also see a strong juxtaposition in the instrumentation, particularly towards the end. The listener is presented with a brass section and classical guitars giving the track an almost latin feel, and that’s just one example of the singer's ‘outside of the box’ thinking on the record.

The full-length manages to show a fairly diverse approach, with every song still maintaining a fairly similar vibe. Despite ‘Carry On’ building off a darker approach, ‘Don’t Mess With Me’ thriving off a powerful vocal delivery and rapid-fire hi-hat’s in the chorus, or ‘Meet The Foetus/Oh The Joy’ sounding like it was written in some kind of dream-like state, all of the songs manage to maintain a sense of familiarity that makes it quite clear that they’ve all been cut from the same cloth, and the same can be said about the rest of 'Diploid Love'

Distillers purists may find this album a little too challenging to enjoy, especially with tracks like piano ballad ‘I Don’t Need Your Love’ and album closer ‘Parties For Prostitutes’ showing their heads towards the end of the record. The electronic polish and high-quality production over the record may feel like a bit too much for some as well. Others, however, will welcome these changes with open arms, and be rewarded greatly for doing so.

For some previous fans, this record may be a bit too much and seem slightly off putting. That, however, doesn’t change the fact the Brody Dalle has crafted a fantastic collection of tracks on 'Diploid Love'.

1. Rat Race
2. Underworld
3. Don't Mess With Me
4. Dressed In Dreams
5. Carry On
6. Meet The Foetus/Oh The Joy
7. I Don't Need Your Love
8. Blood In The Gutters
9. Party For Prostitutes