Rating:   10 Ratings     12345  

Dressy Bessy Electrified Transdreamer

      Power-pop chords pushed by forceful riffs and swift drumming are all it takes to keep Dressy Bessy on track, still focused on the same sound (just enhanced) since they began eight years ago.

      Ealom is a chameleon on the mic, able to contrast her voice to each track so it suits the sound, yet jumps out above everything else. And joining her once again are, respectively, Apples In Stereo member John Hill (guitar), Rob Greene (bass) and Craig Gilbert (drums).

      In her own right, she is the 60s match-up to Shirley Manson of Garbage, fronting a band consisting of men, and able to control the masses with her playful voice, as oppose to Manson’s provocative approach.

      The Denver, Colorado group has succeeded with a tight clan of followers where newer bands have failed. These recent youngsters on the scene only incorporate the music where it is seen to fit into their albums; Dressy Bessy is involved in the vintage lifestyle wholeheartedly, on and off the stage.

      Just as their predecessors and counterparts in hip-rock were, the band plays upbeat, happy, danceable tunes. If the guitar doesn’t get you onto the dance floor, Ealom’s chirpy vocals will lead you there. Their music is infectious -- able to take you on a bubbly, bright-spirited ride you won’t soon forget.

      It’s near impossible to place a label on Dressy Bessy, who have ruled the underground music scene for years. Yes, Ealom sings with a carefree voice, and yes, they relive and replay some of the best transcending, experimental music known. But no other band is quite like them, even when broken down.

      There should be warning labels on albums like this. So sugary-sweet, it’ll have you hyped up, queuing in for their next nearby show after just one thorough listen. Dressy Bessy is addicting; even I’m eyeing my summer plans, making a budget, just in case...

      It’s amazing, really, that such a band can just springboard themselves into this musical oblivion with the greatest of ease, able to bring justice back to the sixties and maintain that hippie grace.

      Each song is worthy of its own praise, but a select few would most likely have to be: Jumpstarter "Second Place," where Ealom drones out a few lines like a weathered Hole-era Courtney Love. The drums are roughhoused, then the guitars get a few strums in, back and forth until she begins to sing again. "She Likes It," with a ground-up fuzz box intro, almost entirely parallels The Sex Pistols’ "Anarchy In The UK," of all songs. It has perfected harmonics, too with, "Don’t tell him she likes it. Oooh, she likes it..."

      "Hello Hello" is very distinguished, with it’s electric guitar solo that not only opens the track, but appears again later on. And there’s always time for "Call It Even," which appears as some sort of a reprise track, but it’s far from it. The party has only just started here, when she coerces, "Can I get a hit from you? Call it even later..." Who could turn her down?

      And as the album closes with "Who’d Stop The Rain," I have to believe that Ealom can answer that question herself. The sun is always shining in the world of Dressy Bessy; God forbid it should ever rain on their parade.

-Arie Musil 06/11/05