Too True
22 January 2014
Sub Pop
4 stars out of 5
Too True is Dum
Dum Girls’ third LP, and its immediately accessible dream pop hooks and
post-punk beats serve as a declaration from Dee Dee Penny & Co. that
they’re ready and willing to conquer the world. Or, if not the world, then at
least the indie cafés of its hipper parts of town and the living rooms of its
university students. This record is overwhelmingly cool, excitingly sexy, and
endlessly listenable.
The statement of intent that is the one-two punch of “Cult
of Love” and “Evil Blooms” is undeniably good times. Heads will nod, feet will
tap. This is clearly meant to be fun shit.
Then comes “Rimbaud Eyes” and all hell breaks loose. If Deborah Harry and
Siouxsie Sioux were somehow merged into one and joined The Sisters of Mercy as
their new lead singer and songwriter, you’d get “Rimbaud Eyes.” And it would be
the catchiest thing any of those artists ever wrote. “Are You Okay?” is a warm
and delicately sincere love song that works.
“In the Wake of You” wouldn’t feel out of place on a Belly record. Released as
a promo single a few months before the album, “Lost Boys & Girls Club”
oozes with the confident swagger of a songwriter who knows she’s brought her
A-game to the field.
Penny doesn’t push too many boundaries on Too True; rather, she’s refining her
craft, expanding her voice within the territory that she’s claimed as her own. So
don’t expect newfound virtuosity or Kid A-esque
explosions of the concept of songform, just expect to be entertained by one of
the coolest bands since The Long Blondes. And since the album’s 31 minutes go
by far too quickly, it’s not entirely unreasonable to be entertained twice per
hour, every hour, until you need to turn off the lights and go to sleep.
reviewed by Richard Krueger
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