I Will Be

The initial concept behind Dum Dum Girls’ first full-length was to set the record in an Italian women’s prison film from the 1960s. Though only single “Jail La La” (the would-be LP’s title) deals with actually being imprisoned, it’s an oddly appropriate fit for the Dum Dum Girls’ aesthetic: leather, cherry red lipstick, a classic girl-group sound that nods to drag races as much as malt shops. Because of an image licensing snafu, the original concept was scrapped, and in its stead is I Will Be, a blistering half-hour of menacing, witty bubblegum pop.

Originally, Dum Dum Girls was a one-woman show. Kristin Gundred (stage name Dee Dee) first introduced the project as a bare-bones experiment, taking lo-fi 60s pop and beating it to all hell on DDG’s self-titled debut EP. But unlike your average bedroom artist with a four-track and a thing for the Ronettes, Dee Dee was writing songs that were as catchy as they were well-rounded, even when buried under a thick layer of scuzz. (She accomplished the same with the Mayfair Set, an equally scuffed collaboration with Blank Dogs.)

I Will Be still retains her EP’s grit, but smartly updates the sound, enlisting three new members (including ex-Vivian Girl Frankie Rose) and hiring Richard Gottehrer (co-writer of the eternal “My Boyfriend’s Back” and producer of records by seminal groups like the Go-Go’s and Blondie) to produce alongside Dee Dee. The result is a more accessible version of Dum Dum Girls, bolstered by terrific harmonies (three of the four girls contribute vocals) and a crisper rhythm section.