Dressy Bessy?s cute name--from a vintage doll--and association with the Apples in Stereo, who share guitarist John Hill, might make indie fans expect a pretty twee experience from this third, self-titled full-length. The a... more »lbum?s one example of Apples-style bounciness, "Blink Twice," finds Tammy Ealom cheerily singing of finishing off a bottle of whiskey. Crunchy chords borrowed from Living After Midnight for "This May Hurt (a little)" and the grinding rhythms of "Georgie Blue" make clear that singer Ealom?s vision is pop mostly in the sense of catchiness. If she were a Peanuts character, she?d be a more clued-in Peppermint Patty. With her sweetly raspy voice, Ealom illuminates small facets of girl life that often escape other songwriters: the friendship gone sour of "This May Hurt," the fraught relationship with Mom in "Girl, You Shout!" And her spare guitar parts lock in with Hill?s leads to push the tunes along and add moments that ultimately lift the record to another level. --Rickey Wright« less
Dressy Bessy?s cute name--from a vintage doll--and association with the Apples in Stereo, who share guitarist John Hill, might make indie fans expect a pretty twee experience from this third, self-titled full-length. The album?s one example of Apples-style bounciness, "Blink Twice," finds Tammy Ealom cheerily singing of finishing off a bottle of whiskey. Crunchy chords borrowed from Living After Midnight for "This May Hurt (a little)" and the grinding rhythms of "Georgie Blue" make clear that singer Ealom?s vision is pop mostly in the sense of catchiness. If she were a Peanuts character, she?d be a more clued-in Peppermint Patty. With her sweetly raspy voice, Ealom illuminates small facets of girl life that often escape other songwriters: the friendship gone sour of "This May Hurt," the fraught relationship with Mom in "Girl, You Shout!" And her spare guitar parts lock in with Hill?s leads to push the tunes along and add moments that ultimately lift the record to another level. --Rickey Wright
"I love this album! I would describe the music as the Primitives meet the Breeders. Great pop/alternative songs. Tammy Ealom's (sp?) vocals remind me of a more talented, less raspy Kim Deal. The whole band is kind of a "more talented" Breeders, but slightly less "poppy" than the Primitives. More accessible than the Aisler's Set. This is one of the first albums in a long, long time that I listen to in it's entirety. No "filler" songs here! If you like the song "Rainfall" from Apples in Stereo, or the more upbeat Belly songs like "Slow Dog" and "Feed the Tree" or "Long Division" from the Aislers Set, you'll like this album."
Hey, it comes with a DVD for God's sake
Pantone292 | Omaha, NE USA | 09/09/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Not only is the album great, but if you're new to Dressy Bessy, the DVD will make you like them a even more. This is fun, peppy music that's hard to dislike."
This May Hurt (A Little)
Jellybones | On Tour | 03/19/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Though their sound is similar on most tracks, I really am digging this album. I admit, I'm kind of a sucker for the psych sounds of Elephant 8, but this group has a nice mid to up tempo rocking sound that never dives to deep into true psychedelia or the bizarre. Steady, consistently good. Great mixed with other clean guitar centered rock or E8 friends."
The Incomparable Dressy Bessy
Robin Sena | U.S, | 02/18/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A very noticable change from their earlier albums, as they seem to have a more matured sound, the self titled release is more great Dressy Bessy. Whereas other bands make changes that result in usually less than stellar albums (Blink 182, That Dog, etc.), Dressy Bessy creates another great album that will find it's way to your CD player for months. Once again, there is no filler material, as you will find yourself never skipping any tracks. The songs tend to run a bit longer on this release, but is always a wise music purchase when you buy Dressy Bessy."
Their Best Yet!
Chris Hughes | Portland, OR United States | 09/15/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Dressy Bessy just keeps getting better and better. This is unquestionably their best to date. Nothing too complex, nothing too deep, just infectiously catchy bubblegum pop to chew again and again!"