When this one came through I thought “Wow, talk about an advance copy – it’s not even out until December”. Then I realised that they meant July 12th, not December 7th… Dear US of A, please sort your dating system out to match the entire rest of the world, please and thank you!
The thing is, had it been a December release I’d have had to contain my enthusiasm for far too long. A month is bad enough. Daydream Explosion is that good. Now let’s be honest, I like The Dollyrots. Not just their music, they’re bloody wonderful people as well and deserve nice things to happen to them. But they don’t sit there and expect shit to happen – they work for it, and with Daydream Explosion that work has paid off. This is, frankly, their best album to date. Every song a bouncing, smiley, catchy, pop-punky, joyous little gem. Except “Flippy In My Red Dress” but that’s only because it’s not meant to be.
There are 14 tracks on here, so it’s great value for money especially when they’re this good. At heart the band is a two-piece (well, Kelly and Luis are married after all) with the addition of Rikki Watson on drums who keeps the whole thing ticking along nicely. Together they’ve managed to nail their genre while ensuring that even with this many songs being foisted on you at one go there’s no sense of samey-ness.
While the bubblegum punk rock is the main focus, and I don’t think there’s a band on earth who do it better, it’s the little flurries of other material that really set this band apart. The classic pop feel to the start of “Watching the Storm Go By”. The Marilyn Monroe lounge feel to “Red Dress”. Channeling Andrew WK with “I Know How To Party”. The fact that the final song is dedicated to their daughter Daisy. If the lyrics don’t make any parent think about their little ones then they need to ask themselves why not.
Daydream Explosion is an absolute blast. Pure and simple.
Daydream Explosion is out on July 12th
The Dollyrots: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | youtube | myspace | bandcamp
