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UncutNov 23, 2011This is a dark and heartfelt affair. [Dec 2011, p.82]
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Oct 24, 2011While I wish that Only in Dreams offered more adventurous songwriting or a more varied sound, it's still an achievement in its emotional tenacity.
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Oct 18, 2011This disc is all hi-fi, sonically and emotionally, piling on Phil Spector echo and Go-Go's gloss as singer-guitarist Dee Dee Penny mourns a faraway lover and a fatally sick mom
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Oct 4, 2011Only in Dreams, the second Dum Dum Girls album, seethes with a beautiful, raging confidence, louder and fuller than anything they've done before, and better than the onetime peers they're leaving behind.
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Sep 30, 2011Some of the mid-tempo tracks towards the end of the album may slow the momentum created by the first half, yet Only In Dreams is ultimately a triumphant, self-assured release that proves the Dum Dum Girls are here to stay and will continue to evolve into full-fledged rock stars, a role they seemed destined to fill.
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Sep 29, 2011Some of the band's signature buzzsaw sound has been traded in for clever production.
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Sep 28, 2011It showcases a remarkably assured collection of songs (at times sounding like The Long Blondes do surf-pop--in no way a bad thing) as well as a real depth and maturity to songwriting that dwarfs the offerings of its home-recorded predecessor.
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Sep 28, 2011Only in Dreams isn't a perfect record, but a little while down the line it might end up looking like the beginning of something--the first steps forward for the band, or perhaps a raising of the bar for this entire revival.
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Sep 27, 2011Dee Dee delivers an album that sounds like Chrissie Hynde backed by Hüsker Dü. Only in Dreams could make you wonder what other indie bands would jump up and thrive if only they had steamroller production.
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Sep 27, 2011With Only in Dreams, Dum Dum Girls have raised the bar.
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Sep 27, 2011Dum Dum Girls always know exactly who they are, play on their own strengths, and leave the audience fully satisfied and happy to come back for more. Simplicity rarely sounds this good.
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Sep 27, 2011It's a softer side to the Dum Dum Girls, but no less catchy or insistent.
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Sep 27, 2011It has the feeling of a band progressing in their own rights, under their own terms.
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Sep 26, 2011Dee Dee had to change, the change was good, and it led to a fine, grown-up guitar pop record.
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Sep 26, 2011The result is a terrific, fun and most of all, genuine follow-up from one of the best surf pop bands of recent memory.
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Sep 26, 2011For the most part Only in Dreams is a sound that is firmly theirs.
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Sep 26, 2011While a grisly backstory doth not always a masterpiece make, the album's finest moments come when she takes a Misery-sized sledgehammer to the youthful irreverence of yore and reduces it to rubble.
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Alternative PressSep 22, 2011It may not be a challenging album, but it's close to pop perfection. [Oct 2011, p.107]
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Sep 22, 2011Whereas their debut album, I Will Be, was scuffed by its home recording, every guitar riff, snappy rhythm and surging chorus here is polished to a gleam.
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Sep 22, 2011While a layer of fuzz covered most of that debut, here the production is sharper and highlights Dee Dee's voice and twangy guitar lines, and her vocals are more confident and evocative.
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Sep 22, 2011Gundred's richer-than-you-expect voice is the key to these jagged little pillows.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 14 out of 15
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Mixed: 1 out of 15
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Negative: 0 out of 15
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Sep 29, 2011