Too True

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For other uses, see Too True (disambiguation).
Too True
Studio album by
Dum Dum Girls
ReleasedJanuary 22, 2014
Recorded2012 - 2013
GenreIndie pop
Length30:16
LabelSub Pop
ProducerRichard Gottehrer and Sune Rose Wagner
Dum Dum Girls chronology
End of Daze
(2012) 		Too True
(2014)
Singles from Too True
  1. "Lost Boys & Girls Club"
    Released: December 17, 2013
  2. "Rimbaud Eyes"
    Released: January 28, 2014

Too True is the third and final studio album by Dum Dum Girls,[1] released by Sub Pop on January 22, 2014 in Japan; January 27, 2014 in Europe; and January 28, 2014 worldwide. The album marked the fourth Dum Dum Girls release in a row produced by Richard Gottehrer and the Raveonettes' Sune Rose Wagner, and the fifth overall for Gottehrer. The album reached No. 138 on the UK Albums Chart.[2]

Music[edit]

Too True was compared to British alternative rock bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Cure, the Stone Roses, Suede, and the Jesus and Mary Chain.[3] The production on the album featured heavy use of reverb and multiple layers of guitars.[4]

Background[edit]

Frontwoman Dee Dee began to write Too True while touring for End of Daze, and in November 2012, she began to record the album with Gottehrer at Pet Sounds at East West Studios in Hollywood. However, Dee Dee soon realized her voice was damaged from touring, which halted recording. During this break, she rewrote lead single "Lost Boys & Girls Club" and slowly recorded the vocals herself back in New York City.[5]

The song "Are You Okay?" was originally written and intended for Ronnie Spector but Gottehrer convinced Dee Dee to keep it for herself.[6]

Promotion[edit]

The album and track listing were unveiled on October 31, 2013, alongside the release of the video for the first single, "Lost Boys & Girls Club," which premiered with H&M.[7] On November 15, a teaser video for "Too True to Be Good" was released in conjunction with V.[8] The "Lost Boys & Girls Club" single was released on December 17, 2013.[9]

The second single from the album, "Rimbaud Eyes", premiered January 11, 2014 via Sub Pop's official SoundCloud page.[10] NPR premiered the full album on January 20 through an exclusive "first listen" stream on their website.[11]

The band performed "Rimbaud Eyes" on The Late Show with David Letterman on January 30, 2014. This appearance marked the band's second televised performance.[12] The entire "Too True to Be Good" video was released February 19, 2014 to promote the band's North American tour.[13]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
NME[15]
Pitchfork7.4/10[16]
PopMatters7/10[17]
Spin7/10[18]
Sputnikmusic3.5/5[19]

Upon its release, Too True received generally positive reviews from critics.[20] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72 based on 37 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[20] In his review published on The A.V. Club, Ryan Kyle praised the album, saying that "Too True finds Dee Dee enlisting a drum machine to give songs like 'Little Minx' and 'Evil Blooms' a much more rigid backbone than the band’s songs have had in the past".[3] Paste hailed the record, stating that "Dee Dee’s voice is what stands out. It’s achingly emotive in its minimal range".[4] Mojo qualified Too True as "a perfect pop balance of cliche and rawness, with mythic ambition and songs that make you a three-minute hero".[21] Uncut wrote that it was "a bold album".[22] No Ripcord criticized the album's production, stating that the band "needs to play to its strengths, rather than a production style" and asking, "What's the point of writing great riffs if you can't properly listen to them?".[23]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Dee Dee

No.TitleLength
1."Cult of Love"2:14
2."Evil Blooms"2:35
3."Rimbaud Eyes"3:30
4."Are You Okay?"2:50
5."Too True to Be Good"3:04
6."In the Wake of You"2:40
7."Lost Boys & Girls Club"3:24
8."Little Minx"2:29
9."Under These Hands"3:29
10."Trouble Is My Name"4:01
Total length:30:16
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
11."Girls Intuition"2:49
Sub Pop bonus 7" vinyl[24]
No.TitleLength
1."Rimbaud Eyes"3:30
2."Girls Intuition"2:49

Personnel[edit]

Adapted from Too True liner notes:[25]

Recorded at East West Studios, Los Angeles and The Coven, New York City.

  • Engineered by Alonzo Vargas at The Orchard, New York City.
  • Mastered by Joe LaPorta at Sterling Sound, New York City.

Release history[edit]

Country Date Format Label
Japan[26] January 22, 2014 (2014-01-22) CD, digital download, LP record Sub Pop
United Kingdom[27] January 27, 2014 (2014-01-27)
Canada[28] January 28, 2014 (2014-01-28)
United States[1]

A limited number of copies of the LP version of the album were released on light blue and white spattered vinyl as a "Loser Edition."[29]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Jen Pelly. "Dum Dum Girls Announce New Album Too True, Share New Song/Video "Lost Boys and Girls Club", News, Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  2. ^ "CHART LOG UK: NEW ENTRIES UPDATE - 8.02.2014". Zobbel.de. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Ryan, Kyle (28 January 2014). "Too True review". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  4. ^ a b Lore, Mark (January 28, 2014). "Too True". Paste. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  5. ^ "TOO TRUE: CHASING POP INTO THE DARK: DUM DUM GIRLS". Dum Dum Girls. 2013-10-31. Archived from the original on 2014-01-13. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  6. ^ Muller, Marrisa (29 January 2014). "Dum Dum Girs Break Away From Underground on "Too True: Music News: Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  7. ^ "H&M Life Introduces: Dum Dum Girls - Lost Boys And Girls Club". Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  8. ^ Kyle McGovern. "See Dum Dum Girls' Gloom Chic 'Too True' album teaser, SPIN, SPIN MIX, Videos". Spin Magazine. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  9. ^ "Amazon.com: Lost Boys & Girls Club - Single: Dum Dum Girls: MP3 Music". Amazon. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
  10. ^ Carrie Batton. "Listen: Dum Dum Girls "Rimbaud Eyes", News, Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
  11. ^ Stephan Thompson. "First Listen: Dum Dum Girls, 'Too True' NPR". NPR.org. NPR. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  12. ^ Tom Beihan (31 January 2014). "Watch Dum Dum Girls Play Letterman - Stereogum". Stereogum. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  13. ^ "Premiere Video: Dum Dum Girls - Too True To Be Good". V Magazine. Retrieved 2014-02-19.
  14. ^ Tim Sendra. "Dum Dum Girls - 'Too True', AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
  15. ^ Kevin EG Perry (24 January 2014). "Dum Dum Girls - 'Too True', NME". NME. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  16. ^ Jayson Greene. "Album review: Dum Dum Girls: Too True". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  17. ^ Matt Casarino. "Dum Dum Girls: Too True, PopMatters". Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  18. ^ Jason Gubbels. "Dum Dum Girls Convene Their Own Dead French Poets Society on 'Too True'". Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  19. ^ Rudy K. "Album review: Dum Dum Girls: Too True - sputnikmusic". Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  20. ^ a b "Too True". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  21. ^ "Too True review". Mojo: 95. February 2014.
  22. ^ "Too True review". Uncut: 73. February 2014.
  23. ^ Marvilli, Joe (February 10, 2014). "Dum Dum Girls - Too True - Music Review". Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  24. ^ "Dum Dum Girls to tour on their upcoming "Too True"". Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  25. ^ Too True (booklet). Dum Dum Girls. Seattle, Washington: Sub Pop. 2014.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. ^ "Too True: Dum Dum Girls: HMV Online". Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  27. ^ "Too True: Dum Dum Girls: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon UK. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  28. ^ "Too True: Dum Dum Girls: Amazon.ca: Music". Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  29. ^ "Sub Pop records: Loser Edition FAQ". Sub Pop. Archived from the original on 2012-08-16. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
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