Tired of Facebook flame wars about politics? Had it up to here with the endless parade of sensational headlines, protest marches and requests to join boycotts? The perfect antidote is here: Whiplash Splash by The Dollyrots, a Southern California duo comprised of Kelly Ogden on lead vocals/bass and Luis Cabezas handling guitar and vocals. The album is a delightful joyride of escapist power punk/pop that will—at least for an hour—make you forget about the daily shit show that passes for current events.
Babbling Idiot is a wild, lurching song courtesy of drums that hit off-beat on the verses exactly where you wouldn’t expect them to. That twist draws the listener in, trying to dissect exactly what the heck is happening on the rhythm track. The break features Ogden singing in an exaggerated accent that’s a cross between a Valley girl and a streetwise New Yorker, and is so over the top it’s pretty damn irresistible.
Mermaid is a song that very effectively uses the formula that Kurt Cobain perfected: Soft verses, loud choruses. Just Because I’m Blonde is a pure tongue-in-cheek, stereotype-busting, over-the-top fun tune. Dance Like a Maniac is a frenetic workout that commands the listener to “dance like a maniac, don’t be so boring!” Saturday Morning and City of Angeles continue the pattern of rapid-fire tunes.
Jump Start This Heart is a complete change over all the other songs on the album. It’s a slow tempo, very pretty and moving song about a relationship…one of those songs that makes you think “yeah, I’ve been there.” After tugging at your heartstrings on that song, the band then asks the question: What woman would tell her husband that she’s going out to buy cigarettes, then proceed to walk out the door and leave forever? The protagonist in Pack of Smokes, that’s who.
Whiplash Splash was entirely crowd-funded by fans of the band, an increasingly common practice these days given difficulty of being signed by a major label. With the quality of the music on this album, those fans who contributed should definitely be pleased.
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