ALBUM REVIEW: The Dollyrots – Down The Rabbit Hole
(Wicked Cool Records)
It’s more than 20 years since Kelly Ogden and her husband Luis Cabezas began making catchy pop-punk nuggets as The Dollyrots.
Kelly plays bass and sings and Luis wields a mean punk rock guitar, and the LA duo are rounded out to a three-piece by a drummer when they play live.
Their sound is inspired by the Ramones, Pixies, Sex Pistols, Nirvana, and Green Day, and their records are enormous fun.
They’re extremely prolific, having released seven studio albums, and around 40 singles, as well as finding time to have a couple of kids, who go on tour with them.
Many of the singles have been digital-only releases, and this 24-track 2CD collection on Little Steven Van Zandt’s label makes many of them available in physical format for the first time.
Down The Rabbit Hole features material from throughout the band’s career, and kicks off with a pair of previously unheard songs, Too Fun For My Health and Cloud Ten.
There’s a smattering of songs previously only available on compilations, and alternative versions of a handful of songs from their back catalogue.
Cover versions
Highlights of disc one include an alternate take of Penny (from 2004 debut album Eat My Heart Out) and an electric version of their Star Wars-themed love song Be My Leia.
But the real gems lie on disc two, in their well-chosen cover versions, which reveals much about the artists who have influenced them.
Thus we get hugely enjoyable takes on Nirvana’s Breed, Generation X’s Dancing With Myself, Rancid’s Ruby Soho and The Queers’ Punk Rock Girls.
We also get a run through Tom Petty’s American Girl and Katrina And The Waves’ Walking On Sunshine, while The Undertones’ Teenage Kicks is repurposed so the subject of the song is a guy.
The Dollyrots have toured several times with Texan pop-punks Bowling For Soup, so this collection wouldn’t be complete without their spirited take on BFS’s High School Never Ends.
UK tour dates
The Dollyrots are currently in the studio working on new music for release in 2022, with multiple tours in the works, including UK dates in April with Bowling For Soup and Lit.
In the meantime, get your hands on this and try to keep your feet still. Check out The Dollyrots’ back catalogue on Bandcamp HERE and get Down The Rabbit Hole direct from the band’s website HERE. 8/10.
