The Dollyrots - 'Daydream Explosion' Album Review

Tracklist:

1. Animal

2. Everything

3. In Your Face

4. Naked

5. Last Ones On Earth

6. I Love You Instead

7. Watching The Storm Go By

8. I Know How To Party

9. Kat's Meow

10. No Princess

11. Flippy In My Red Dress

12. Oblivious

13. Talk Too Much

14. Daisy's Song

Yes, it’s the perfect Pop/Punk album. Do I like it? Not really! What can I say? It’s everything there is to dislike about the late teen mush that ‘the kids’ apparently love these days.

I’m not meant to like it though, that’s the point. It’s not being played for me. Of course, it has its merits and I’d like to think that the Los Angeles twosome, Kelly Ogden (vocals/bass) and Luis Cabezas (guitar/vocals) are doing it for themselves, that this is the music they want to make. I have my doubts, but who can blame them? They have a plethora of fans who love this stuff and after several successful albums why would you change? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?

To this end the songs are extremely formulaic: it’s as if they have been freeze-dried, pre-packed, ripped open and tipped into a glass: just add water, the instruction on the pack says. It’s a shame, as these guys can play, they know their craft and the stream of songs create everything you’d expect from a Pop album. The production is clean, snappy and catchy and the more you listen, you can’t help but be drawn into the choruses that easily worm into your head.

And then they’re gone, absorbed into the rest of the mush we’re fed. Maybe that’s the appeal. There’s not much thinking to be done while this is playing, put it on whilst doing your homework, you won’t get distracted: it’s a mild anaesthetic that will allow you to sleepwalk through your teens without having to exert the little grey cells to any great degree.

There is an obvious appeal for Millennials as Ogden and Cabezas are both fresh faced and a little bit quirky in their dress and styling and they should be applauded for their DIY approach to making music. They have previously crowdfunded album releases and now have their own label, ‘Arrested Youth’ and you must have real fans for that to happen and to remain successful.

Many of the songs have a similar sound and feel to them but one track that bucks the trend is ‘Flippy In My Red Dress’, which has a laid back, Bluesy Stray Cats feel about it. The rest is high energy bubble-gum Pop. You can hear the influences, Ramones and Green Day are in there, but the overall vibe is a bit too clean for The Dollyrots to spread their appeal across genres.

Overall, it’s a decent album and if you already love this band then you’re onto a winner with this latest offering. I’m off to do the ironing while I give it another listen!