The Dum Dum Girls are one of my favorite bands. Self-possessed, bad-ass chicks who play New York-tough tunes with a Los Angeles filter–that sort of hazy smog overlay that softens the punk edges into a 60s infused journey through 1980s femininity; throwback music that is purely of the moment. Sure, they sing about bedroom eyes and heartbreak–typical fare, but Dee Dee Penny’s strength as a singer and incredibly intimidating I-Want-to-Be-Her stage presence stabilizes the music and pushes it forward.
These songs may have been done before, but not like this. Well, maybe they have been done like this but the Dum Dum Girls are awesome, and the music is relatable precisely because it doesn’t try to be obscure. It synthesizes the childhood of an 80s baby into sound, which ends up being supremely cool. This is how they attract Academy of Art kids and the newbies at San Francisco State simultaneously.
If I’m being honest, I sing my heart out to “Coming Down” every time–all the while imagining myself to be an actor at the end of a John Hughes movie. Every time. It’s just that kind of music.
Eat your heart out, Molly Ringwald.
Nostos Algos 