Album Review: Dum Dum Girls - Too True

It's only been four years since Dum Dum Girls – initially the moniker for NYC-via-LA chanteuse Dee Dee Penny's solo recordings – landed on the scene with a splash, but already the stylistic change that the now-full band has undergone in that time is bordering on seismic.

Their 2010 debut I Will Be was punchy and laden with fuzzed-out guitars, while second album Only In Dreams (2011) proved to be the perfect bridge to their current aesthetic; namely super-slick production with an '80s pop sheen, the sub-three-minute songs all seemingly tailor-made for radio with their predictable structures and commercial-oriented hooks and melodies. Despite the trademark reverb it's not miles removed from what acts like The Divinyls, The Pretenders and even Pat Benatar were doing 30 years ago – songs like Evil Blooms, Rimbaud Eyes, In The Wake Of You and Little Minx would slot into current 'classic hits' radio formats seamlessly. There's more texture and dynamics underpinning tracks such as Cult Of Love, Too True To Be Good and first single Lost Boys & Girls, but not enough to lift the album from its overall malaise.

Too True is brash and confident and will no doubt find plenty of admirers, but it's ultimately one-dimensional and formulaic – one can only assume that the conceptual stylistic jump from '60s girl groups to '80s rock divas and the corresponding sonic shift from lo-fi to multi-tracking seemed better on paper than it proves in practice.