4/1/2023 0 Comments Stomp and holler genreIf the future promises to bring more moments where Tammy Ealom croaks "I want to steal your candy" like a nic-fitted Wicked Witch, then it's probably time for folks to stow Dressy Bessy in the attic. Her performances comes off as awkward karaoke, and it's even worse when it comes on songs like "Automatic" or "Sindy Says" that superficially resemble what the group's done in the past (and done better). Then Ealom shows up, slightly out of step with the songs in question, singing melodies she's seemingly forgotten tied to lyrics that are best left forgotten. Their self-titled debut album Hard Working Americans was recorded in 2013 at Bob Weir s TRI Studios in San Rafael, CA. It's bad enough that the songs, separate from the vocals, are pretty weak- if the tunes on turds like "Ease Me Down" or "Anyone Can See" aren't bad enough, the use of cheesy Casio trumpets (on the former) or a rinky-dink drum machine (on the latter) make sure this shit stinks. On most of Holler and Stomp, unfortunately, she sounds like a Deal sister looking for a melody and a paper sack. There's more than a bit of irony to be had, though, with Ealom repeatedly singing the line "Gimme something to sing" in a song that's all the better for keeping her singing to a minimum.Įven the most casual listener would notice a change between Ealom's voice over the years- her girlish chirp from the group's early days has developed a little husk and heft, making her sound not unlike Kim or Kelley Deal. The other track is "Left to the Right", a stop-start number where Dressy Bessy, which to this point of the album comes off as existing somewhere between "listless" and "inert," sound like they're actually enjoying what they're playing. The album's nominal single, "Simple Girlz", features a sassy multi-tracked Ealom kicking up her walking boots in the general direction of shiftless dudes looking for easy breezy ladyfriends. Some might be more generous, but there are only two tunes that stand out from this mess for their non-awfulness. 'Capturing the fun, colour and musical diversity of the New Orleans sound so rarely heard on these shores.' 'The standing ovation was inevitable.'. It's as if the group chose to stoop to and limbo beneath the subterranean lows established by the awful cover portrait (with all due apologies to fans of the "airbrushed street scene festooned with MS Paint graffiti and Oscar the Grouch trash cans" school of artistry). Arrives by Mon, Mar 6 Buy Stomp Grind & Holler at . 'Capturing the fun, colour and musical diversity of the New Orleans sound so rarely heard on these shores.' Blues Matters. It's a 13-song journey through a world where Dressy Bessy turns themselves into everything critics thought they were- amateurish, tuneless, puerile, purveyors of the sort of "catchy" songs that spring the CDC into action. But that would be before the group's latest album, Holler and Stomp.
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