Diploid Love
Caroline
Diploid Love may be Brody Dalle’s debut solo album, but she is anything but a novice when it comes to this music caper. Signed at 15 in Australia, Dalle eventually moved to LA to front the punk rock dynamos, The Distillers. Along the way she married Josh Homme to become rock’n’roll royalty.
When punks grow up and have children they may lose the desire to punch everyone in the face, but they still have plenty to say and things to question. Dalle still has the fire in the belly as Diploid Love habitates the space between The Ramones and The Ronettes.
Underworld is a fast-paced rocker that Dalle has been kicking around since her Distiller days. The large-lunged vocalist carries the tune about reincarnation with able help from the horns of El Mariachi Bronx.
Dalle is clearly pushing the boundaries of what she knows on this album. Carry On has more in common with the strobe lights of clubs than it does with a pogoing pit and I Don’t Need Your Love is a slow and meandering tale that doesn’t really go anywhere.
Diploid Love is a bit of a mixed bag, but there is enough quality to draw you back for repeated listens. Dalle is keen to go back to the studio for her next record. Let’s hope she finds plenty to be angry about between now and then.
CHRIS HAVERCROFT
