Life in Reverse – The Dahlmanns (Fabcom Records/Waterslide Records)
Two full-length albums in 16 years doesn’t sound like the hallmark of a productive band, but appearances are deceptive and The Dahlmanns aren’t typical.
Revolving around the axis of husband-and-wife founders Andre (guitar) and Line Dahlmann (vocals), this Norwegian outfit is best described as a “singles band”, with no less than 16 releases in that format or as extended plays (that’s EPs for the dummies).
The Dahlmanns aren’t exactly unknown among discerning music fans. They’ve featured on TV and movie soundtracks in their homeland, and have collaborated with the likes of Andy Shernoff (The Dictators), Chips Kiesbye (Sator), Francis McDonald (Teenage Fanclub) and Amy Rigby. Much of trhe back catalogue is here.
Andre Dahlmann's track record notably spans bands like The Graves, The Twistaroos and The Yum Yums . Take it as read that The Yum Yums were THE uncrowned kings of supercharged bubblegum-pop-rock in the early 2000s and probably remain so.
So The Dahlmanns have form. I was hipped to them by Godfather of Zines and former Cramps fan blub president, Scotsman Lindsay Hutton, publisher of the “Next Big Thing” magazine (now a blog), good guy and champion of all that’s great.
Trying to sidestep genre labelling here but what’s the point. The Dahlmanns are bona fide punk-pop royalty, the masters/mistress of their own Ramones-meets-the-Ronettes domain. “Life In Reverse” finds them mining a harder, Detroit-style vein, but they still have a pop heart.
The band reanimated after a long lay-off with an EP on a Spanish label two years ago. Dutch imprint Plato Utrecht has since released lead track, “Leatherboys”, as a 45 backed by a Prince cover.) It’s an emphatic start to the album that pulsates to a single repeated piano note, throbbing bass-line and handclaps before Line’s sultry vocal chips in.
In the band’s words the song invokes “the spirit of Detroit, casting a TV eye down on Devil Gate Drive and sneaking in a nod to Motor City son of a preacher man, Vincent Furnier into the bargain”. Fair call.
Line offers: “The lyrics are inspired by the images of Finland’s (gay art icon) Touko Laaksonen. It's about a ‘Tom of Finland’ type character meeting up with his gang to attend shows at Max’s Kansas City in New York". The Stones quotation in the outro does no harm.
“Life in Reverse” isn’t tearaway rockers and kicking out jams. Reflective moments like the title tune with its percussive nuances and shaded colouring, the cocktail- hour-in-Laurel Canyon “Old Ghost Stays” and the shimmering “The Golden One“ leaven the loaf and make it rise. Of course your own results might differ, but the latter resembles Sweden's The Soundtrack Of Our Lives in a small bar.
"Ride On" is a bright rocker. "What's Inside A Mind" is psych-tinged pop and "Sandlewood" is as sunny as they come.
The band references Aliens-era Roky in “Dark Side With You” (and it's true), but the same could be said for “From The Universe”, given just a dash more of Duane Aslaken’s overdrive pedal. Two headed dogs abound. A wandering guitar line and a Stooge-istic lyric ensures a circle of sorts remains unbroken.
A track-by-track dissertation would be pointless given that the record isn’t out yet, so mark March 1 on your calendar as a red letter day when Fabcom Records (US) releases the vinyl LP and Japanese imprint Waterslide Records. does the same with a CD. Streaming would seem inevitable so keep an eye on their socials for a heads-up.
