REVIEW: dada, dada (MCA)
- Scott Slonaker
The Los Angeles trio known as dada (lowercase, thank you) has resurfaced from the ashes of a failed label (I.R.S.) with their fourth album. As befits the band's rebirth of sorts, it's self-titled.
Dada's music is both easy and impossible to categorize. They don't sound shockingly different than most of the other white guitar-pop bands, but there is somehow no good comparison. In this record, I can pick up a little Weezer, a touch of the Gin Blossoms, a dollop of Pet Sounds /Jellyfish layered harmonies, some Replacements clatter, and a fair portion of strummy Toad the Wet Sprocket-esque preciousness. Among other things.
What I can tell you is that the three musicians who make up this band- singer/bassist Joie Callo, guitarist/singer Michael Gurley, and drummer Phil Leavitt- are first-rate. They effortlessly keep the sonic palette varied and never boring - which is why I'm hearing such a pastiche. So, don't be fooled just because you remember "Dizz Knee Land", the group's only real hit (and a mediocre novelty at that).
dada opens with....a dance beat. Soon enough, the string-backed "Information Undertow" kicks in, bringing with it memories of Duran Duran's '93 comeback record. Things then get chunky in a hurry, with the Brit-pop guitar wall of "Playboy in Outerspace" and the first single, "California Gold", which nicks the opening melody from War's "Low Rider" before leaping into a chorus of "Crackers and the crack boys (mixin' it up)/ Maria and the boy toys (mixin' it up)/.45s and jet noise (mixin' it up)/Crackers and the crack melting into California gold." "Beautiful Turnback Time Machine" could have been pulled right off Jellyfish's Spilt Milk (one of the finest overlooked records of this decade) "This Thing Together" has Beach Boys harmonies Brian himself would be proud of. Buried in the middle of all this is the gorgeous acoustic ballad "Goodbye", sung by Callo in his best falsetto.
See?
Most of the last few tracks are janglier and more like the dada of a few years ago. Fans are going to want to check out "Sweet Dark Angel" and "Baby Really Loves Me" in particular.
Thankfully, dada is a band that has managed to find an audience without continuous radio and videoplay. See them on tour and you'd think they were platinum-selling stars. dada is a fine choice for all fans of guitar-based pop music, and that's the best way I can describe it.
