Dressy Bessy

Electrified (2005)

Jordan Rogowski

There's certain bands you just hear and automatically think "background music." It's music you don't find to be particularly bad or particularly offensive, but it's just completely lacking any sort of qualities to make it stick out, or qualities that give it redeeming value, that keep you coming back. Nothing on Dressy Bessy's Electrified makes you open your eyes and ears to say "you know what, this is really good."

Therein lies the problem for the majority of the record. Singer Tammy Ealom has a hard time keeping command of the band that's backing her. The instrumentation is really pretty bland, and the fuzzy guitar work offers little to no differentiation between songs. You know the feeling you get when you hear a song and think "did I not just hear that?" Exactly the reaction you're likely to have upon listening here. Sure, the band is capable of some tempo changes and Ealom even changes up her vocal style a little bit throughout the course of the album, but it's really just too little too late. She can have a coy, subdued sense about her, and transition that with a more snotty, riot grrrl approach as well. Unfortunately, the vocals are the only part of the album that even approaches versatility.

The guitar work on the album is muddled, distorted, and most importantly, completely repetitious. The lazy, bare bones effort approach really shows through for Dressy Bessy. Songs like "It Happens All the Time" show a band doing nothing more than going through the motions. The chord progressions might as well be non-existent, because it's a real chore to keep your attention on them. Ealom attempts to be the band's saving grace, but it's just not enough.

Dressy Bessy write decent songs with definite new wave and post-punk influence, but it all just sounds too cold. Too uninviting, too boring to really make an effort on. I don't doubt the band's ability to write some solid indie rock songs, but if this album is any indication, they've veered pretty far off the course.