END OF DAZE
RELEASED: 24TH SEPTEMBER
‘End of Daze’ is a record which evokes many emotions for the listener. Written as a follow up to Dum Dum Girls 2011 release ‘Only in Dreams’, an album which was recorded directly after the death of lead singer Dee Dee’s mother, the album is about the importance of trying to find beauty in times of anguish as a way of moving forward.
The record opens with abrasive guitars at the beginning of ‘Mine Tonight’, a track written at the same time as ‘Only in Dreams’ but saved for this record along with the second track ‘I got nothing’, which combines lyrics filled with the notion of hope within despair, “I don’t want to fade I just want to shine”, reflected in an uplifting vocal and melodic style.
A mixture of vocals and guitars reverberate gently for the entirety of the atmospheric ‘Trees and Flowers’, a cover of the 1983 single by Strawberry Switchblade, which sits comfortably within the other tracks on the record. “Oh boy/I can’t hurt you anymore/Lord knows I hurt my love” sings Dee Dee on their new single ‘Lord Knows’, a slower paced ballad seemingly about regret and overwhelming sadness, juxtaposed by her heavenly tones. The record ends with ‘Season in Hell’, a track featuring faster paced melodies, which changes the feel of the record towards the end. Lyrics such as “Doesn’t dawn look divine” ring out during the cascading chorus providing a sense of optimism for what the future may have in store.
All in all, ‘End of Daze’ is an EP which instills in the listener presumably similar sentiments to which the band themselves are feeling without an overload of emotion, unarguably an impressive feat. The sense of optimism created at the end of the record leaves a pleasurable ringing in the ears, signalling a similarly positive future for this dreamy Californian group.