He Gets Me High

Interestingly, this release veers in a different direction from their celebrated and propulsive full-length debut, *I Will Be*. Mostly a solo effort by Dee Dee, she is joined by Sune Rose Wagner of the Raveonettes on guitar, and teams up again with the legendary Richard Gottehrer who also produced *I Will Be* and who co-wrote the classics “My Boyfriend’s Back,” “Sorrow,” and “I Want Candy.” Where the debut buried the vocals beneath a dirty and dense squall of noise, *He Gets Me High* puts Dee Dee’s fetching, dreamy voice up front so it can be heard with crystal clarity, a choice that accentuates the beauty and expressiveness of her singing, which is the highlight of these four glorious songs. “Wrong Feel Right” is fuzz-pop perfection complete with a surf rock drum beat and chiming guitars, “He Gets Me High” sets an infectious melody and catchy chorus against just the right amount of distortion, “Take Care of My Baby” is a hypnotic, echo-laded ballad, and the closer revs things back up with a brilliant and energetic cover of the Smith’s “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.” The only complaint is that it is over too soon.

Los Angeles-based Dum Dum Girls follow up their fuzzy,girl group-inspired 2010 Sub Pop debut I Will Be with He Gets Me High, an EP composed of three originals and a cover of the swooning Smiths’ classic “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.” Lead singer/songwriter Dee Dee, Richard Gottehrer (who also worked on I Will Be and is best known for penning “My Boyfriend’s Back” and “I Want Candy”), and Sune Rose Wagner of the Raveonettes produced the EP.

Dum Dum Girls continue to branch out on this EP, proving the band's musical palette is larger and more sophisticated than most of their peers'.

Last year, the indie world rediscovered the sound of classic girl-group pop, heard in the cooing vocals of Sleigh Bells and Best Coast, and filtered through twangy sounds of early rock ’n’ roll via Los Angeles’ Dum Dum Girls. Led by the stone-faced Dee Dee, who started the band as a solo project, the group had one of…

As fetching as Dum Dum Girls’ reverb-soaked retro noise pop can be, it’s hard not to admit that the all-female four-piece doesn’t exactly trade in...

Dum Dum Girls - He Gets Me High review: Dum Dum Girls continue to mark their territory, recording an excellent Smiths cover in the process.