It's a sad irony that often great and beautiful art grows out of tragedy. Whether it be horrific world events, or individual struggle and loss, artists of note often express their sorrow and quest for catharsis through their art. What usually emerges is a work stripped of pretense and artifice featuring the artist's raw naked soul. Such emotional nudity is easy to discern when the work arises out of an art form that is characterized by melancholia or anger to begin with. Leviathan is getting a lot of press currently for his work "True Traitor, True Whore," because of it's emotional starkness, but really when isn't Leviathan emotionally stark? His brand of black metal is inherently raw. What happens instead when tragedy strikes an artist who channels in poppy girl-group punk? Do they turn in a bleak, downtuned album that breaks with what they know or do they continue on with their patented sound? If you are the Dum Dum Girls, you double down on what you do best and go for broke, as evident on the expansive and exuberant "Only In Dreams." Last year front-woman Dee Dee's otherwise healthy mother, whose image appeared on the cover of the band's superb "I Will Be," was diagnosed with a series of brain tumors that quickly took her life. Many of the lyrics on "Only In Dreams" center around Dee Dee's reaction to her loss, even as the band lays down some of the cleanest and most accessible music of their career. As a result, what emerges is a collection of incredibly pristine and shiny garage-pop songs whose sunny facade cannot hide the heart-wrenching purity of the emotional turmoil that lie at their core.
Sonically the band eschews their former lo-fi sound for the hi-pro glow that marked the "He Gets Me High" ep. While some old-time fans may be turned off initially by the far more professional sound of "Only In Dreams," Dee Dee's songwriting has always been the Dum Dum Girls' real strength, regardless of what fidelity it is recorded in. Opener "Always Looking" resembles the serrated pop of the band's previous work, it just sounds grander. Yet, there is a move here away from the band's previous tough as nails approach and toward a more classic 60s girl-group sound, as is evident on tracks like "Bedroom Eyes," "In My Head," and "Heartbeat (Take It Away)." Each song is equipped with simple sing-along verses and soaring bridges and chorus that sound not a day older than 1965.
The band saves their best work for the album's second half. The Mazzy Star-like "Coming Down" showcases Dee's amazing vocals while the band provides a gorgeous and spacious backdrop. The record closes out with three back to back tracks that clearly center around the death of Dee Dee's mother. "Wasted Away" is an urgent garage-tinged number that finds Dee chasing her mother in dreams as she fades in real life. "Teardrops On My Pillow" follows, and may be the best track on the record. It begins as urgent as "Wasted Away" as Dee details her anguished emotions, but then the track suddenly comes to a halt and a simple guitar and drum back her as she sings "all that's left is teardrops on my pillow." Lyrically it's an incredibly sad number, but Dee Dee's voice is as strong and determined as ever and one cannot help but be moved by how powerful she sounds in the face of such personal tragedy. "Hold Your Hand" closes the record with a wearier sounding Dee as she sings "I wish it wasn't true, but there's nothing l can do, except hold your hand until the very end." Musically, the track sounds like a 60's girl-group love song, which is fitting given the great love between child and parent evident throughout "Only In Dreams." The track ends suddenly with a simple drum beat, leaving the listener alone in a sea of devastating emotions. It's not exactly what you would expect from what is basically a pop album, but this isn't your average pop record, even by indie rock standards. This is heartfelt and powerful stuff that will bring tears to your eyes if you let it, even as you are humming the songs' addictive melodies and tapping out their beats.
"Bedroom Eyes"
"Coming Down"
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