JANUARY 2009 ONLINE EDITORIALS

Dressy Bessy - Holler And Stomp

album cover

By Erik Myers

“Who’s in your headphones honey?” asks singer Tammy Ealom. If you claim to know good local music, yours better be blasting Dressy Bessy every now and then.

The fluttery Denver-based pop rockers have pranced their way to their spot among the best music-makers the Centennial State has ever offered, a decade of their unique bubblegum cavorting behind them. Not just anyone can get tracks on cult movies like But I’m a Cheerleader.

It’s good to know that with their sixth full-length, Holler and Stomp, some things never change. The sixties-slung hooks just keep coming here, heavy on the sugar and sprinkled with spice. If you’re wondering where everything nice went, they stuffed it into “Shoot, I Love You.” It’s a cute, bouncy ditty where Ealom’s delivery oozes with merriment while retaining a kind of serious exasperation.

This talent especially shines through in “Simple Girlz,” a crunchy guitar melody provided by John Hill (who’s also guitarist for another Denver classic, The Apples In Stereo) braces Ealom’s sarcastic cheering: “Outstanding, it must be obvious, I can-not be yours; you want a simple type of girl, a simply happy girl, you love the lucky simple girl.”

It’s easy to dismiss Dressy Bessy’s sound as preteen, destined for the soundtrack of the next Disney Channel Original Movie. But a patient listener wouldn’t be able to deny the fun of Holler and Stomp. They’re like Devo in that sense; underneath the high-fructose moxie is a solid music foundation that keeps the show from getting too syrupy.
www.dressybessy.com