Music album review: The Dum Dum Girls

Fronting a guitar band, Dee Dee Penny must surely tire of being measured against the rock chicks who have preceded her. But it’s inevitable that listeners will compare her to Chrissie Hynde, of the Pretenders: there’s the same drawl and the similarly wry lyrics. Even the sudden chord changes, and driving rhythms, smack of the Pretenders. And then there’s the image: Penny has adopted the black bangs and crude fringe Hynde has sported since the 1970s.

There are other influences, too. ‘Rimbaud Eyes,’ one of the best tracks on Too True, is the song Blondie never got around to writing, perfect pop with just a hint of menace, while ‘In the Wake of You’ sounds more than a little like the Bangles.