September 17, 2008

Monolith Music Fest. Wrap Up (Saturday): Dressy Bessy

Dressy Bessy

Until not too long ago, I was only a minor fan of Dressy Bessy, not going out of my way to see them, but if they played someplace close and it wasn't too much, I would check out the show. Granted, that happened like once, and I didn't really pay attention. One or two songs caught my attention, so I got their album Electrified, and listened to it a few times, mainly focusing on the popier songs. A few months ago, in prep for Monolith, I picked up Electrified again and became completely engrossed in the songs, and got their entire back-catalog (that I could find).

Like on their albums, Dressy Bessy is a heavily distorted, noisy indie pop band that is playful, but has a harsh edge to it. The lyrics are quick and uncomplicated, on the surface. I had an advantage on new listeners in the audience in that I had all ready fallen in love with the lyrics (most of which deal with female identity [as far as I can tell]), but the thing is that Tammy Ealom's lyrics shoot out and grab your attention, even if you're not quite sure as to what she's talking about. This is backed up by the rhythm section, which juxtaposes her "you can basically hear her chewing bubblegum between singing lyrics" vocals nicely. Live the "wall of sound" shoegaze sound really seemed to bleed through the sound system, but maybe that's because I was so close to the stage. Either way, live, their music really comes alive. POWERful indie pop my friends. Truly one of the few bands on the Main Stage that I fully enjoyed.

Dressy Bessy - Stop Foolin



























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