Monday, July 17, 2006

Dilly Dolly Dally

It was the summer of 2004, only 20-plus years late to the party, that Dolly Mixture was brought to my attention by a fellow lover of indie music (thanks Swami). He suggested that I download some MP3s and directed me to the Mod Punk Archives Dolly Mixture entry. I wish I heard them or had known about them before they disbanded in 1984.

Debsey Wykes (vocals, bass), Hester Smith (drums), and Rachel Bor (guitar) made up the Dolly Mixture threesome. There isn’t a lot of information about Dolly Mixture on the Internet and some of it is conflicting –
the Mod Punk Archives state that they “were musically adept and unafraid to haul out the occasional piano or cello accompaniment” while allmusic.com suggests that the group began as a joke and that after landing a gig they “decided they had better begin learning to play instruments.” In either case, I find Dolly Mixture to be fun, crafty pop tunesmiths and below I’ve linked some MP3s for your consideration. I think you’ll find that their sound was definitely a precursor to bands like Saturday Looks Good to Me, Camera Obscura and a number of other present-day pop incarnations.
Dolly Mixture MP3s:
There is a great site full of Dolly Mixture MP3s here.
Watch a Dolly Mixture live performance on YouTube here.
Dolly Mixture UK releases:
Baby, It's You EP (CHRYSALIS, 1980)
Been Teen EP (RESPOND, 1981)
Everything and More EP (RESPOND, 1982)
Remember This EP (DEAD GOOD, 1983)
The Fireside EP (CORDELIA, 1984)
Demonstration Tapes LP (DEAD GOOD, 1984)

No comments: