Ah the Dum Dum Girls… the Dum Dum Girls are in serious danger of transcending the shtick that the band is partially and maybe unfairly saddled with as the End Of Daze certainly shows pushing back at the boundaries of songwriter Dee Dee’s previous songs for the band without losing any of the charm or panache with which those other efforts were imbued, but, then again, maybe Dee Dee is just slowly becoming the torch singer that her voice betrays her to sometimes be.
Do not get me wrong, End Of Daze still contains the jangling guitars and simple and straight to the point rhythm section that is a hallmark of the band; but the outfit seems to have decided to push Dee Dee’s vocals more to the front of the mix than previous records which seemingly has caused two developments with the sound of the Dum Dum Girls: one being the case regarding Dee Dee’s possibly newly realized affinity for torch singing, and two being that the choruses on End Of Daze have huge sounding hooks. Whether you are listening to the sickeningly sweet chorus of the ballad “Mine Tonight” (seriously huge sounding as well) complete with great “girl group” backing vocals or the peppy rhythms that back up the almost depressing vocals and twee guitars of “I Got Nothing”, the idea that the Dum Dum Girls were maturing kind of hits you like a brick wall; the single from the EP, “Lord Knows”, also shows the girls really at the top of their game with a huge chorus and solid music that just sounds completely from another era that makes the song so good.
The Dum Dum Girls seem to get better with every new record, and End Of Daze certainly continues that trend with gusto; each one of the five songs have the possibility of getting stuck in your head for days on end, and while at times that may be annoying to some, it certainly speaks to the ultimate quality of the songwriting on this excellent EP. Their EPs seem to presage a forthcoming album lately, and it will be interesting to see if End Of Daze is a sign of songs to come or if it will be a singular blip on the oeuvre of the Dum Dum Girls
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