An old friend of mine, I haven’t seen her in forever, used to have this laugh. It wasn’t forceful or annoying, but it stood out. She could be three rooms over at a loud-ass party, but when the level of the laughing rose, you knew if she was near it. She laughed a lot too, we both did, probably from all the grass we smoked as college wound to its conclusion. She dated a friend of mine, I dated a friend of hers. She lived with another friend of mine, and I lived across the street from them.
Things never got romantic. That impulse never factored in. She was very pretty, and I was an early-twenty-something with the mind and maturity of a boy much younger, but even so it wasn’t an issue. We would sit on her porch, or at the corner bar and have what fun we could, while we could, without it getting complicated. We’ve both moved on, have gotten married and live thousands of miles apart from each other, but the next time I see her, whenever that is, it’ll be like we never left her front porch and no further explanation will be needed.
I mention all this because the new Dum Dum Girls album, Too True, reminds me of my old friend. It doesn’t ask hardly anything of the listener and expects that he or she isn’t looking for too much in return. The songs take it easy, unpretentious pop-rock, plenty pretty as they are. This record is a breeze, great to hang out with for however long you want.
The lyrics won’t start any revolutions, but every once in a while singer and songwriter Dee Dee Penny drops a nice bomb and the vocal melodies do what they should. “Too True to be Good” feels like something the Cure might have written had they gotten more sun and had more of a social life. Everything comes together with a focused purpose too often absent in similar musical landscapes and the resulting track takes you to what magical lands the first few songs on the record promise.
The first single, “Rimbaud Eyes” is the runt of this litter (kind of boring, compared to the rest). Hustle through that one, though, and the rest of the production delivers a most pleasant listening experience. The groove never vacillates much, save picking up a bit of steam to cruise on through “Under These Hands” and “Trouble Is My Name”, the album-closing duo that sends things out on a lovely, buzzy, smiling high note.
There’s plenty to like here, and nothing terribly serious going on. Pop music with a rock beat, and space for one and all. This good time does not require any greater label, nor any push to make it something it is not. In and out in just barely thirty minutes, this record is like a brief visit with a beloved old friend, squeezed into a random afternoon to which one long looked forward, but didn’t imbue with unnecessary meaning.
Like some friendships, records can be easy. Too True is one of those.
Rating: 4/5