"End of Daze", Dum Dum Girls at their best

End of Daze EP

On "Mine Tonight", our beloved Dum Dum Girls needs a little more than a minute before showing "the hand" the tune has: all aces. An epic, inner fire that bursts alongside with the desperate and deeper lyrics about loss, loneliness and being lost, without missing their trademark sounding, but reinvigorated and enriched. Its a mesmerizing opener for "End of Daze", an EP that only has winning cards, and a perfect summary of what easily ranks among the best of their career so far.

The driving and irresistibly catchy melodic guitar pop that devotes so much to their garage origins is still there, in particular on "I Got Nothing", but even in that tune, Dum Dum Girls sound "heavier" than ever. Not in the sense of having moved to hard-rock (thanks God), but into adding much more depth on each song. It's on Dee Dee's voice, on the guitars sonic palette, and the emotions each composition reaches.

Third song "Tress and Flowers", a cover of Scottish duo's Strawberry Switchblade is another fine example of these Dum Dum Girls 2.0. An aching and echoing ballad, its strikingly powerful and allows Dee reaching a new climax of emotion with her voice. An coupled with "Lord Knows", which is even better, a slow burning juggernaut in which everything, voice (these fading backing vocals), vibe, guitars, drums, lyrics, has "classic" written all over, proves the band is probably at their peak as musicians. When the combination of simplicity and conviction produce such irresistible results, its undeniable: you have it.

After such a pair of shocking tunes, "Season in Hell" might sound like a more predictable number, but this first judgement quickly turns to be wrong. Again the echoes and the recognisable beat characteristic of the band, but also the new post-punk pulse, the slight riff distortion and the impressive chorus line "Doesn't dawn look divine?", propels the tune into a new direction, closing the EP on a refreshing, extremely satisfying note.  

Not even 20 minutes of stunning indie pop-rock. "End of Daze" is absolutely unmissable. The Dum Dum Girls at their best.

SCORE: 8,25/10