The Dirty Blonde are looking to the treasure trove that was the 1990s slacker rock movement for inspiration on their second album 'SugarMilk'. Being Glaswegian, it's easy to mention them in the same sentence as Teenage Fanclub, as they share the marriage of melody with buzzing guitars that the indie heroes became known for in the first part of their career. There's much in common with the US college-rock scene as well, and luminaries such as Pavement can clearly be detected in the almost lazy (but in a good way) delivery.
This doesn't mean that everything has to be so lo-fi that it sounds as though it was recorded on a Dictaphone, and The Dirty Blonde actually pour plenty of ambition into the mix too. Take 'Bottom Feeder' for example. Yeah, it's frayed around the edges and isn't designed for arena tours, but it's not sloppy at all. The steady start gives way to a nicely scuzzy and tuneful chorus, despite the lyrics not being full of the joys of spring. It turns out that 'Bottom Feeder' is actually a bit of an epic, as we then get walls of shoegaze guitar soaring high and stretching out over the horizon as the song reaches a grand finale and the vocal becomes more intense. Slightly nostalgic, but expertly done.
The Dirty Blonde's website
Buy: 'SugarMilk'
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