The Dolly Rocker Movement- Electric Sunshine

Sun 23rd Jul, 2006 in Music Reviews

The day of Syd Barrett’s death is the day I first hold The Dolly Rocker Movement’s idyllic debut album in my hands. One journey is over, and another, hopefully as prolific and successful, begins. The Dolly Rocker Movement’s Electric Sunshine promises to take you on a ride, and a gratifying one it is.

I have eagerly awaited this album since first catching the tail end of an Espy gig by chance over a year ago. This brief glimpse into their world initiated me into a part of life I had never experienced, but that everyone should. The lighthearted sounding, hypnotising, enchanting live tunes have blissfully been done justice on their album.

The liner notes proclaim that their “world is filled with electric sunshine by day and a yellow moon by night”, and they don’t lie. Each song as a whole is complete and well structured, and thus the album is a thoroughly blissful voyage. The first track ‘Falling Home Again’ begins the ride and eases you into the album.  It is by no means a striking track but in the concept of creating the whole album as one journey it is very effective. The beat is simple and minimalist with a very primitive, raw sound. Not raw in the sense of a guttural, harsh thump, but rather basic and stripped back. Lyrics regarding the sun and stars are sung, although unlike many 60s influenced bands’ Daniel Poulter sings these with genuine honesty and passion.

The following track is comparable to a never-ending shooting star. The infectiously sung “ohh right” and Jamie Van Veldhoven’s lively drumming propels this track to make it one of the finest on the album. In addition, Ricky Drabsch’s discreet bass playing aids the song till it comes over you to the point that you’re pounding and pulsating. Throughout the album Poulter’s vocals are diverse and mature. His tone is reminiscent of Detroit music legend, Rodriguez, though Poulter has a more breathy approach to singing. His voice is full yet he’ll show his vulnerability and humility by allowing himself to lose some of its force on occasions. Tracks two and three really highlight this.

‘Sad Sally’ clearly demonstrates another component of The Dolly Rocker Movement’s repertoire. It has a tinge of country to it, added with the percussions and delicate vocals; this track sends tingles through my body. A very simple song, it evokes the tunes of The Byrds. Another country-styled tune later on in the album features female vocals that are sublime. Suggestive of Mazzy Star but used without sorrow it is a skillful achievement by The Dolly Rocker Movement.

As we get to the midst of The Dolly Rocker Movement’s ride, we reach the radio-friendly garage/psychedelic freakbeat tune ‘Go-Go Getter’. It has a faintly more menacing sound than r&b bands and is only slightly psychedelic. Martin Walter’s incendiary organ tune mid song brings this track to life along with the sweet lyrics: “she makes the day seem higher when I think about her”. This song is deliciously pop, yet with substance. 

With influences such as the aforementioned Barrett, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and other late 60s psychedelic and rock bands, their sound harks back to this era and subsequent genres, but the glory of The Dolly Rocker Movement’s tunes is it that they are not a mere replication of these sounds. There is an instinctive awareness by the band of the social, artistic and moral reasons the music they have been influenced by originally sounded the way that it did. The Dolly Rocker Movement does not regurgitate these sounds; they embody them. The visual representation of the music, the album cover design and the artwork by Elfin Floyd, corresponds, authenticates and consequently enhances the ideas concealed in the songs. The Dolly Rocker Movement has updated these earliest sounds, taking advantage of a wide range of musical and social influences that were unavailable to the early psychedelic bands.

We now come down from the ride. The female vocals and use of harmonica pulls at your heart’s strings. The final track ‘Sorry’ is the most sensitive of the album, declaring, “I’d sell my soul for you to come around”. The Dolly Rocker Movement’s debut Electric Sunshine is one thoroughly enjoyable ride, fulfilling the criteria of having diversity and change. The song selection and order sustain this. There are some truly remarkable songs on this album. And now I look forward to the launch to see if the old analogue echo unit that created the retro, reverberating intro sound on ‘Go-Go Getter’ is recreated live.