Second albums can be tough (as the saying goes, you spend your whole life making the first album and six months making the second). The so-called “sophomore slump” exists for a reason, as far too many artists with great debuts can’t meet the bell for round two without a mighty struggle. Just ask Terence Trent D’arby (the guy even had to change his name).
Dum Dum Girls raced off to a robust start with 2010′s I Will Be, a fuzzy mix of ’60s Motown and ’80s distortion led lyrically by Dee Dee (the stage name of Kristen Gundred) and backed by Jules, Bambi and Sandy. With producer Richard Gottehrer (Blondie, Marshall Crenshaw, wrote “My Boyfriend’s Back”) at the helm, I Will Be was a revelation and a key mover in this new wave of surfy-shoegaze.
For Only In Dreams, the foursome didn’t want to take any chances, pairing Gottehrer with Sune Rose Wagner of the Raveonettes to ensure a second album to bolster the first. But the final result is tepid and lazy, a been-there, done-that effort with few moments of brilliance. Earlier this year the Dum Dum’s covered The Smiths’ “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out,” but after listening to Dreams, my mind quickly referenced another Smiths tune: “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before”.
The album starts off promising enough – “Always Looking” is a firm two-minute race of ’60s nostalgia, followed by the poppy “Bedroom Eyes,” a song which feels comfortable in any decade, complete with a jangly guitar to compliment Dee Dee’s sweet voice.
But for whatever reason, the album shifts from dynamic to monotone, with songs melding together and losing identity. Just listen to “In My Head,” “Heartbeat” and “Caught in One” and tell me the drum beat isn’t exactly the same. With the drum drums, the Dum Dums were redundant redundant. It sounds as if the drum machine was left on, layered over with Guitar Pro surf licks. I couldn’t tell you what Dee Dee sang — I hardly cared.
Fortunately the band rises from its malaise with the stunning “Coming Down,” a six and a half minute opus where Wagner’s influence shines through. The quiet-loud-quiet song showcases Dee Dee’s voice, backed by a band rising and falling with her every shout and whisper. If the album contained nine other songs of this depth, it would easily be my album of the year. It’s not to be, though, as Dreams limps home with a trio of just-OK songs, rounding out the 36-minute album with a resigned sigh. I’m disappointed, and I expected more from the Dum Dum Girls the second-time around — but maybe that’s just my wishing well.
