Tonight: Dressy Bessy @ Emo's

Last month, NPR's Ken Tucker pitted two albums side-by-side for comparison: one was Coldplay's third album X & Y; the other was Electrified, by the Denver indie-pop band Dressy Bessy. After challenging the earnestness of Chris Martin's sappy vocals, Tucker goes on to glow about Tammy Ealom - Dressy Bessy's lead singer - praising her tone for being "every bit as knowledgable about the vagaries of love and lost and so much more varied and witty in its expression."

After hearing the CD, we have to agree with Tucker: Ealom has a feisty, bubblegum voice that's like a punkier American Francoise Hardy, or maybe Of Montreal's lead singer -- only more masculine. Her vocals are brilliantly paired with fuzzed-out guitar riffs and fiesty drum work, giving the group a smashing power-pop retroliciousness that's completely un-ironic (unlike, perhaps, the term "retroliciousness"... or "mofo"). Our only point of contention is that, like Elefant's debut album, every song starts to sound the same, only in this case that works in their favor. Because that archetype - the mother song from whose fertile womb was birthed the beautiful tunes of Electrified - is pure sunshine, baby.

Also, we hear Ealom & Co put on a damn fine show. Tonight we'll see for ourselves when they play Emo's. After the Austinist Happy Hour, natch.

NRP's Ken Tucker via indieworkshop
Dressy Besssy on MySpace

Dressy Bessy
Thursday, July 7
Emo's - Late Show
-and-
Waterloo Instore - 5pm