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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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Dressy Bessy
Dressy Bessy\r\n(Kindercore Records)\r\n
By Matthew Smith
For their fourth album, purveyors of cutie-pie sugar-pop Dressy Bessy deliver an eponymously titled collection of sounds “fastened onto the sweetest intentions” (at least according to the liner notes). Admirable, but something is amiss this time around.
All the needed elements are here: pristine, polished production; shimmering vocals; a righteous mix of ’60s girl group verve and new wave vibes; jangly folk touches; and garage-rock drive. Still, the whole winds up less than the parts.
The main explanation is in the songs, which, though palatable, fail to pack much grab-hold gusto — not on the first listen, not even on the sixth. Scattered moments — swell guitar runs, soaring vocals — raise some interest only to get lost in songs that settle quickly back into merely pleasant. Only a few sing-a-long moments, so vital to music of this nature, appear.
Another pitfall, one that unfortunately also sucks down a lot of bands now, is that the songs don’t seem to be about much of anything. They aren’t even cryptically oblique or particularly poetic — they’re just ... there. Certainly all rock need not ring deeply meaningful, but the bulk here is simply made up of pretty rhymes strung together randomly.
It’s not a bad record really. What’s here is sweet — nice even — if not very memorable. But other bands — including Dressy Bessy on earlier releases — have produced much better power-pop than anything found on this disc.
Another reviewer likened Dressy Bessy to Kurt Cobain. By way of reply, I can only stare blankly at the wall with my mouth open.
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