Electrified

Dressy Bessy | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 14, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Transdreamer
• ASIN: B0009K9PJ8
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #201,649 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

There won't be many dentists recommending this album. Dressy Bessy specialize in the sweet sticky stuff that has absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever. The Denver quartet aren't folks to stew about their problems. Instead, they bask on the sunny side of the street and write 60s-influenced pop songs--with more than a whiff of 70s new wave. Sitting in their loud, colorful clothes and plugging in their vintage amps, they do just as their title track suggests. Tammy Ealom's much noted chirpy Go-Go girl vocals benefit greatly from the extra heft that boyfriend John Hill (of the retro-pop Apples in Stereo) brings with his extra-saturated guitar. The extra (over)drive adds ferocity to the kitschy-cool of the super-catchy "Second Place" and "She Likes It" among others. They even slow it down if the occasion calls for it ("Small"), striking comfy poses on a Parisian rainy day ("Who'd Stop the Rain"). Yet, the sunshine always seems to peek out from behind the clouds. --Jaan Uhelszki

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Record Of 2005!!, June 23, 2005

By 

Shantbe Bronte "Shantbe" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Electrified (Audio CD)

As a grumpy old closet indie rock fan I must admit that I generally feel that the genre died after the sorry demise of Scotlands C86 scene. So imagine my sheer delight on hearing "Side 2" by Dressy Bessy on the radio last week whilst driving to work. I suddenly went from dreading another dreary day in my dimly lit cube to thinking how great my new polka dot dress looked with my shiny red shoes. I caught a glimpse of myself in the rearview mirror, it was 8.23 on a rainy Monday morning, I was stuck in traffic on my way to what has to be the most tedious job on earth and yet I was smiling :-) This was a phenomonon! I checked out their labels site www.transdreamer.com and found out the album was coming out the next day. So, I decided that it HAD to be mine. What a discovery!! Beautifully crafted songs with excellent melodies and lyrics that can make you laugh or cry with every clever twist and turn. Tammy Ealom is a GENIUS! This is a record for everyone not just be-bobbed indie snobs, hipsters looking for a new fix or bespectacled book worms trying to be cool. Everyone who can tap their toes, clap their hands, hum, whistle, sing or dance should buy this record. IT ROCKS!!!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dressy Betty is a fantastic album, June 16, 2005

By 

joe larkin - See all my reviews

This review is from: Electrified (Audio CD)

A record that featured Ealom's conversational and artless vocals could ever be too slick anyway; she has a way of sliding around the notes that gives her a charming punk-next-door appeal. Perfect for the kind of tough punk-pop numbers ("Side 2," "It Happens All the Time," "Small," and "Call It Even Later") that predominate on the album. The mood, as on Dressy Bessy, is angry and melancholy with only a couple of songs like the aforementioned "Who'd Stop the Rain" and "Electrified," a funky new wave groover that has some fine sassy vocals from Ealom, around to lighten the mood. The overall tone of the album, and the fact that they have made two records in a row like it, might be enough to chase away many of the band's original fans for good, but those who stick around will be treated to an album of fine, fizzy adult punk-pop with a mean streak and a broken heart. Dressy Bessy are as pure and true as ever. Totally fantastic really a good band that I highly recommend.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to fall in love with Tammy Ealom and Dressy Bessy, July 14, 2005

By 

Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Electrified (Audio CD)

Here is how you learn to love Dressy Bessy: put a copy of ELECTRIFIED into your CD player and hit "Play." It really is that simple.

Dressy Bessy is excellent in many regards but outstanding in one: Tammy Ealom's effortless, almost conversational vocals. She "sings" in an almost minimal sense, instead emphasizing attitude and expression above anything even remotely related to vocal pyrotechnics. She has limited range, not a lot of power, and tends to fade when singing high notes. It doesn't matter. Probably ten thousand women could sing the songs Tammy wrote in formally superior fashion, but they would all pale beside her uncontrived way of tossing off the lines. She is a magician with lyrics and just to hear the way she utters a single word in the heart of a song-even words as simple as "Yeah" or "Oh" or "Hello"-can generate complete delight. There are other good things on this disc, but the reason to get it is Tammy Ealom. She constantly reminds me of other performers, like Deborah Harry or Julie Brown (the singer/director, not the VJ) or even Poly Styrene, but she manages to stand out as a unique performer in her own right.

Though the main reason to get the disc is to listen to Tammy Ealom, other things stand out about the disc. The songs, all credited to Ealom, are all at the very least pleasant, though to be honest, if she wasn't singing them, I probably wouldn't get excited about them. Guitarist John Hill lays down some great Ramones-like primitive guitar backgrounds and the rest of the band helps generate a lot of energy. I love the way this band makes me feel after listening to them. They are extremely upbeat, cheerful, almost joyous. They are here to have a good time and they don't really care if you would rather brood.

This album isn't going to generate a lot of attention, and that is a shame. This is a fun, fun album that people should be familiar with.