Audio By Carbonatix
Artist: Dum Dum GirlsTitle: I Will BeRelease date: March 30Label: Sub Pop
It’s April, and that means it’s time to take a look at some of the best songs I heard during the past month. Some of these acts have appeared on the two “Nothing Not New” podcasts we put together on March 18 and March 29. Take a listen before you spend your hard-earned coin on 99-cent downloads.
Check out the list after the jump:
1. “Ain’t No Grave” — Johnny Cash2. “Bad Blood” — Black Rebel Motorcycle Club3. “A More Perfect Union” — Titus Andronicus4. “21st Century” — Locksley5. “In the Sun” — She & Him6. “Second Guessing” — Eddy Current Suppression Ring7. “Dixie Boy” — April Smith and the Great Picture Show8. “Melancholy Hill” — Gorillaz9. “Woke Up Near Chelsea” — Ted Leo & the Pharmacists10. “The Fourth Night of My Drinking” — Drive By Truckers
Come May 1, I anticipate a song from Dum Dum Girls’ I Will Be should on my list from April. The new record by the much-buzzed-about all female band from L.A. is a more-than-solid entry into the ever-growing catalog of heavily reverbed noise pop. It’s been 54 weeks since Wavves garnered the same kind of attention for a not-dissimilar take on the whole pop-diamonds-buried-in-trash thing. I like Dum Dum Girls a lot better than Wavves, though.
The melodies and singing are simply a lot more appealing. To me, DDG is a fusion of 1960s girl groups and The Jesus and Mary Chain, and for the most part, it works really well. It’s not without a couple of drawbacks, though. For one, nearly every song employs the drum beat from “Walk Don’t Run” (The Ventures’ iconic surf-rock tune). The repetitiveness of that beat became a distraction for me. At least that knucklehead from Wavves had the good sense to play in front of an amazing drummer when the band was at Rhythm Room last summer.
But in the end, I Will Be is an easily digestible (the record clocks in at 29 minutes, just like in the good old days) and solid collection of three-chord fuzz-pop songs. I look forward to what the Dum Dum Girls do next because there’s a lot of room to grow, but they’re off to a great start.
Best song: “Bhang Bhang, I’m a Burnout,” the best distillation of that girl group/JTMC mix I was talking about.Rotation: HeavyDeja Vu: The EttesI’d rather listen to: One of my favorite bands of all time, The Shangri-Las.Grade: A-
“Nothing Not New” is a yearlong project in which New Times editorial operations manager Jay Bennett, a 40-year-old music fan and musician, will listen only to music released in 2010. Each Monday through Friday, he will listen to one new record (no best ofs, reissues, or concert recordings) and write about it. Why? Because in the words of his editor, Martin Cizmar, he suffers from “aesthetic atrophy,” a wasting away of one’s ability to embrace new and different music as one ages. Read more about this all-too-common ailment here.
The “Nothing Not New” Archives
March 31 — The Dillinger Escape Plan: Option Paralysis (B+)March 30 — Local Natives: Gorilla Manor (B)March 29 — The Bird and the Bee: Interpreting the Masters: Hall & Oates (C)
March 26 — Eddy Current Suppression Ring: Rush to Relax (C+)March 25 — Let’s Wrestle: In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s (B)March 24 — Goldfrapp: Head First (D)March 23 — She & Him: Volume 2 (A-)March 22 — Broken Bells: Broken Bells (C+)
March 19 — Locksley: Be In Love (B)March 18 — jj: jj no. 3 (C-)March 17 — Xiu Xiu: Dear God, I Hate Myself (D+)March 16 — Drive By Truckers: The Big To-Do (B-)March 15 — April Smith and the Great Picture Show: Songs for a Sinking Ship (C)
March 12 — The Morning Benders: Big Echo (C+)March 11 — Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Beat the Devil’s Tattoos (B)March 10 — Acrassicauda: Only the Dead See the End of War (C-)March 9 — Titus Andronicus: The Monitor (B+)March 8 — Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: The Brutalist Bricks (A)
March 5 — Liars: Sisterworld (A-)March 4 — Gorillaz: Plastic Beach (A-)March 3 — Johnny Cash: American VI: Ain’t No Grave (B+)March 2 — High on Fire: Snakes for the Divine (C)March 1 — Joanna Newsom: Have One on Me (C)
Feb. 26 — Freeway & Jake One: The Stimulus Package (D)Feb. 25 — Past Lives: Tapestry of Webs (B-)Feb. 24 — Shout Out Louds: Work (B)Feb. 23 — Brian Jonestown Massacre: Who Killed Sgt. Pepper? (B+)Feb. 22 — Shearwater: The Golden Archipelago (D+)
Feb. 19 — The Strange Boys: Be Brave (B+)Feb. 18 — Tindersticks: Falling Down a Mountain (A)Feb. 17 — Lightspeed Champion: Life Is Sweet! Nice to Meet You (C-)Feb. 16 — Adam Green: Minor Love (B-)Feb. 15 — Juliana Hatfield: Peace & Love (B+)
Feb. 12 — Massive Attack: Heligoland (C-)Feb. 11 — The Watson Twins: Talking to You, Talking to Me (C-)Feb. 10 — Hot Chip: One Life Stand (B+)Feb. 9 — You Say Party! We Say Die!: XXXX (B+)Feb. 8 — Allison Moorer: Crows (B)
Feb. 5 — Joe Pug: Messenger (C)Feb. 4 — The Soft Pack: The Soft Pack (A)Feb. 3 — Polysics: Absolute Polysics (B-)Feb. 2 — Pierced Arrows: Descending Shadows (A-)Feb. 1 — The Brunettes: Paper Doll (B-)
Jan. 29 — Basia Bulat: Heart of My Own (C)Jan. 28 — Priestess: Prior to the Fire (B)Jan. 27 — The Magnetic Fields: Realism (B)Jan. 26 — Four Tet: There Is Love in You (D)Jan. 25 — Delphic: Acolyte (C+)
Jan. 22 — The Hot Rats: Turn Ons (B+)Jan. 21 — Los Campesinos!: Romance Is Boring (A-)Jan. 20 — Midlake: The Courage of Others (D-)Jan. 19 — Laura Veirs: July Flame (B+)Jan. 18 — Beach House: Teen Dream (C)
Jan. 15 — Charlotte Gainsbourg: IRM (B)Jan. 14 — OK Go: Of the Blue Colour of the Sky (D)Jan. 13 — Eels: End Times (A-)Jan. 12 — Spoon: Transference (B)Jan. 11 — Editors: In This Light and On This Evening (D+)
Jan. 8 — Surfer Blood: Astro Coast (B+)Jan. 7 — Yeasayer: Odd Blood (C-)Jan. 6 — Cold War Kids: Behave Yourself EP (B+)Jan. 5 — Vampire Weekend: Contra (D+)Jan. 4 — Texas Tornados: Está Bueno! (B)
Jan. 1 — Scanners: Submarine (B-)
