Only In Dreams,, the second album from Dum Dum Girls, explodes immediately into life with a, dare I say it, almost Ramones-like punk rock song 'Always Looking'. Fitting, given the voice behind the microphone goes by the name of Dee Dee and she does her Ramones namesake proud. That's where the comparisons end, however. Dum Dum Girls sophomore effort is a long way removed from the March 2010 release I Will Be which catapulted Dee Dee to 'album of the year' lists across the blogosphere. Whereas the first record was recorded by Dee Dee solo, she has enlisted a band to help flesh out the ideas behind this album and the resultant effort is less sparse, more sonically dense and, arguably, a more rewarding listen.
Only In Dreams is entirely framed behind Dee Dee's voice, a shift in ideology from the mostly low-fi I Will Be, which moulded and shaped her voice inside the mix. Now, her voice is out there in the front row backed by a more traditional guitar/rhythm section combo. This newfound strategy might come as a disadvantage, though. The new sound employed by Dum Dum Girls on Only In Dreams comes across as almost contradictory to that unearthed on the debut album, meaning that some fans of the more happy-go-lucky aspects of the "early stuff" might be disillusioned by tracks about heartache and the death of her mother, as is the case on this record.
But that isn't to say that Only In Dreams is too fundamental a departure. The same elements remain, and although Dee Dee's voice now sometimes verges on smokey variants of old Pretenders songs, it's still a maturely written and well-constructed guitar pop record. And isn't that what you wanted when you picked it up from the record store shelf?
