These, my friends, are
The Dolly Rockers and this is my appreciation post. The Dolly Rockers is a girl group comprised of three twenty year olds, who are also the best of friends. Lucie, Sophie and Brooke are not particularly talented, if we’re being quite honest. They most certainly can sing and shake their hips in circles, which seems to be their signature dance move, but they don’t play any instruments and live performances, while well intentioned (
they always sing live—and don't suck), are lackluster. So what the hell do they bring to the table in a world that is already heavily saturated with slightly over-produced pop music?
On their
official Myspace, they describe themselves as a group part of the generation that wants pop music back on their own terms, but if they’re being honest, they’d call what they do drunk disco. “We don’t have much in common with manufactured girl bands,” says Sophie, who is so tiny she lies about her real height. Lily Allen, Arctic Monkeys, Blur and Pulp are all listed as their own influences and they’ve definitely got a bit of each attitude infused in their jams. They hardly sing about things that are thought provoking and deep; the biggest jump into that realm is
‘How Did I End Up With You?’ a pop ballad that samples 3OH!3’s smash hit
‘Don’t Trust Me’.
‘End Up With You’ deals with being in an abusive relationship, but since the only version of the song currently available is a poorly recorded live version, it’s questionable how far the lyrics actually devel into the situation. The chorus does explode in a frenzy of impressive vocals on Sophie's part and smart hooks.
Do they feel bad that they can’t present you with the next
‘Halo’ or even sappy ballads about over-coming obstacles, such as Miley Cyrus’
‘The Climb’? Fat chance. “You see, we’re only young,” explains Brooke, who has a voice that sounds one part fifth grader and one part helium, “so we’ve got no heartbreak stories to tell you, we’ve just got stories about nights out in pubs.” Counters Lucie, who claims to be the original love child of Russell Brand and Pat Butcher, “Our songs aren’t about love, more about snogging. We write songs about things that happen to us and things we talk about.”
In three words, The Dolly Rockers present personality, style and fun at it’s best. The girls obviously want to be famous, they want to make it big; this is very apparent from their gimmicks of dancing in flash groups throughout London or in store windows. But the girls however, are fun in both personality and their lyrics. Take for example,
‘Champagne Shirley’, a catty call to every wannabe who tries too hard.
“She thinks she’s fit with her new fake tits and her liposuction,” Lucie spits out in the first verse.
“She wears haute couture, what the fuck does that mean?” The trio continues, going on to call the girl out with her
“Gucci lifestyle and Primark wages.” Mean spirited? Yes. Does the song give off a bit of a superiority complex from the girls? Yes, but they own it. They rock it. And it works.
The girls first single would be the highly infectious, all in good fun
‘Gold Digger’. The video depicts the girls dancing in a shop window to an audience of confused and curious on-lookers, who despite their questions, are amused and entertained.
“So there is a WAG in every mag that you all know/Think she’s got everything, but she ain’t got nothing,” the girls sing, painting the perfect picture of a typical girl who falls on the scene unexpectedly only to tease the boys to get what she wants.
“Well she was real plain, had no brain and had no dough/But now she can roll in it and watch her boobs grow.” The girls thick English accents decorate the techno happy beat as they jump up and down and shake their hips.
‘Gold Digger’ is simplistic, it’s lyrics neither brilliant nor clever, but relatable and fun; everyone remembers that girl from high school. It does it’s job; get the girls exposure and catch everyone’s interest; two minutes into the song and I was hooked.
Another thing about the girls that stands out is their bright attire. While comments on Youtube label the girls as ‘tarts’ or ‘slags’, the bright sweetheart red and black dress Lucie dons with a pair of combat boots and ripped tights are hardly whorish. In fact, in comparison to their American counterparts, such as
‘Dainty Kane’ or
‘The Pussycat Dolls’, the short, poofy skirts the Dolls wear are relatively tame. The only thing that is really exposed is their legs for days, but other than that, they’re covered up. Caked on eyeliner and hair reminiscent of John Water’s
‘Hairspray’, the girls signature looks are bright sequins, funky hair accessories, poofy skirts and hot pink lipstick. They attempt to capture your hearts and allow you to glimpse their personalities in a series of ‘How To’ videos on Youtube. Through learning things like,
‘How to Wire a Plug’,
‘How To Get Big Hair’ and
‘How to Eat a Creme Egg’ (in which—SPOILER!—You actually don’t learn anything), you discover that the girls have a penchant for speaking in French accents, dressing up and partying. They also hold auditions for a boyfriend, decide he’s boring and then are devastated when he dumps them. The videos are all shot in the girls’ apartment and honestly? They’re good, innocent fun.
If you’re still wondering what The Dolly Rockers are all about, maybe it’s best to check out their theme song,
‘Je Suis Une Dolly’, a video shot in late 2008 by the girls themselves, dressed up in their Sunday’s best, dancing all around the city and the subway in hopes for a little attention and a little fun. The anthem that sings about wild nights France is hardly apologetic and slightly objectifying, but for three girls who show you how to make a
‘Dolly Rocking Punch’ on their Youtube account, it’s forgivable. Do the girls try too hard? Maybe. But it’s working, they’re getting attention and
‘Gold Digger’ is available for download on August 30th. And really, they’re not out to save the world, they’re not out to take themselves seriously; they just want to have fun and I for one, am not objecting.
And really, if this doesn't endear you to them slightly, you can always watch
this slightly humiliating impromptu drunk performance at Sophie's 21st birthday. They obviously try their hardest, regardless of the situation.
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cheerful
calm
accomplished
giggly
aggravated
nervous
flirty
hopeful
sleepy