Sometimes you need a bit of candy to see you through the dark corners of life, and sometimes music itself needs to be lit up in bright colours if only to liven things up after a downpour; that’s when Dressy Bessy entered.

After the dreariness that was rock music in the early 90’s and the arrogance that was Brit-pop in the mid 90’s some kind of intelligent fun was needed. No one wanted a return to the days of hair-metal but what could fill the void?

Well the 90’s did provide us with some direction with power-pop bands like Shonen Knife, the 5,6,7,8’s, Matthew Sweet and The Posies, but another step was needed, and Dressy Bessy jumped right into my heart.

The dual guitar work of Tammy Ealom and John Hill provided promise to this music stalwart while Ealom’s delivery and lyrics had me dreaming of the sunnier side of things. Sure they sang songs of sunshine and their tones were 60’s surf/garage/Phil Spector poppy, but they just weren’t being over the top in their quest to relate. Instead it was sunny skies, sarcasm and observational humour used in a similar style to Cracker that had me fall for them. The only problem for me is that they never seem to make their way north to Toronto and they are pretty high on my bucket list of bands. Dressy Bessy just looks like they would be a whole lot of fun to see live.

Anyway, after my initial discovery of their music back in ’99 and then getting the old mail order CD’s from their various record companies and distributors over the years – I finally see the vinyl for Holler & Stomp.

It is gorgeous.

150 Gram Pink Splatter Vinyl

It sounds absolutely fantastic; especially on a summer day with a margarita, a comfy chair and a nice bit of shade. Which is kinda the point when I listen to their music; it’s a cool escape.

You can order it here. You can also hear a great song from Holler & Stomp below… Enjoy Folks!