Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams

(Sub Pop)

It’s little surprise to discover that The Raveonettes’ Sune Rose Wagner co-produced this Californian all-female quartet’s second album. By progressing from trashy, distorted beginnings towards something more polished and unashamedly pop, they’ve followed a similar path to their Danish JAMC-loving counterparts – although perhaps a little quickly to bring along those who liked this band rougher around the edges.

The first album to feature all four Dum Dum Girls (their 2010 debut was solely singer, guitarist and songwriter Kristen ‘Dee Dee’ Gundred’s work), Only In Dreams deals with some heavy subjects, among them the death of Gundred’s mother. Big emotions ambitiously expressed spells standout moments in ‘Bedroom Eyes’ and ‘Hold Your Hand’. But more generally they recall Sweden’s Those Dancing Days – fizzily catchy, if too clean-cut to entirely convince.