Dee Dee - Dum Dum Girls

myspace.com | subpop

This is an LA noirish band, and I like loaf them. According to SubPop who signed them – ‘blissful pop that falls somewhere between The Ramones and the Ronettes.’

Dum Dum Girls at Chop Suey in Seattle – cover of the Ronettes “Be My Baby” Current lineup: Mike Sniper (Blank Dogs) on bass, Frankie Rose (Crystal Stilts) on drums, and Brandon Welchez (Crocodiles).

Dum Dum Girls – “Hey Sis” | Woodsist / Captured Tracks Fest | 7.04.2009 I like the gtr feedback at the beginning. It’s that low volume squeally type, my fave. Just reminded me of the story of how The Beatles accidentally ‘discovered’ feedback, at least for themselves, while recording ‘I Feel Fine’.

Buzz:

“This was the first day of Dum Dum Girls existence as a live band, but clearly they spent a lot of time working out the details, from the look — bangs, gorgeous Silvertone guitars and bass, extremely short black dresses and stockings — to the sound, which is somewhere between the Velvet Underground and ’60s girl groups. It was an impressive debut, hot and cool at the same time. I kept thinking, “this is what the Velvet Underground might sound like if all the members were Nico.” [Soundbites]

It was a crappy night in New York, with rain pouring all over the city and flooding the streets and gutters so that every passing car sprayed water over the sidewalk. The subway was backed up, resulting in grueling commutes. It was the fifth night of CMJ, and even the most hardened festivalgoers were beginning to show signs of fatigue. But as soon as I walked in and heard the Dum Dum Girls playing the Sub Pop/Hardly Art Showcase at the Mercury Lounge, all the hassles slipped away.

The band– a recent addition to the Sub Pop roster, with a debut full-length due in 2010– is actually just one woman, who goes by the stage name Dee Dee, and whoever happens to be backing her at the moment. At CMJ she had a band churning out lo-fi buzz-pop with the confidence of a road-worn crew, and they enlivened her catchy songs with a mix of Spectorian fantasia and Velvet Underground scuzz. Despite a generally chilly demeanor (she spoke seldom and quietly, usually with the feedback still ringing from the previous songs), Dee Dee projected a tough and imposing stage presence, and her set ended way too soon. [ Stephen M. Deusne,  at CMJ '09]

Dum Dum Girls, from Los Angeles, is the project of singer Kristin Gundred, who goes here by Dee Dee, and who sings tart lyrics in a sweet tone buried beneath layers of haze. She has a knack for flawless song construction, her rigor dating somewhere to the late 1950s. And unlike the Vivian Girls, who manage to muster a slight optimism with a similar toolbox, Dum Dum Girls never appear happy, almost gothically gloomy. “Blissed out buzzsaw” is the descriptor on the group’s MySpace page. [Jon Caramanica @ The NY Times]