Review: Diploid Love [Brody Dalle]

Diploid Love- Brody Dalle

by: Kitty White

Her first full release since Spinnerette’s self-titled release, Diploid Love is also Brody Dalle’s first ever solo project. The covert ‘Jill of all trades’ plays most of the parts on the album but has the likes of Shirley Manson, Emily Kokal, Michael Shuman and Nick Valensi sharing some of the spotlight with her on the album as well. It’s a powerful collection of personal songs that mix all the ingredients of Dalle’s former days in The Distillers and Spinnerette and modernizes them in a way only this veteran punk rocker could do. 

The entire album has a much more dynamic and copacetic track list than Spinnerette had and seems much more thought through overall. Diploid Love starts off with ‘Rat Race’ that could easily fit on the former release but from there it takes a dramatic and hard left to ‘Underworld’, which is one of my favorites off the album. The instrumentals on this song are very Distillers-esque but with modern Brody Dalle vocals. It’s fast paced and helps picks up the tempo of the album quickly. ‘Underworld’ catches you off guard with a catchy horn section the middle that you would never expect in a punk song unless you plan on drifting into ska territory. Without missing a beat ‘Underworld’ goes right into ‘Don’t Mess With Me’, which is the first official single off the album. The song busts through the door opening with the line “Here they coming with their guns, guns, guns.” With a steady tempo that picks up with Brody’s signature growling of the chorus ending with a confident “'Cause where I stood, I will not give up.” It’s an anthem of badassery that is sure to make it big.

The album takes a breather after ‘Don’t Mess With Me’ with the haunting ‘Dressed in Dreams’ and ‘Carry On’ which is mesmerizing with Dalle’s beautiful drawn out vocals over a funky back beat. After that cathartic release things pick up again with a two for one deal of ‘Meet the Foetus/Oh The Joy’ a duet with Garbage’s Shirley Manson. Being the first song I heard from Diploid Love I was drawn in immediately. Dalle describes the song as “a love letter to her kids” and although it’s heavy and still has the classic punk feel it’s upbeat and you can feel her delight in being a mother. “Oh the Joy/I’m in love” is exactly how I feel about this song. It is as infectious as Top 40 pop but with much more edge. Keeping with the theme of family ‘I Don’t Need Your Love’ Dalle says is kind of a “f**k you” to her biological dad. It describes what he’s missing as both her father and the grandfather of her children and features an interlude of audio of her two children giggling and playing around. It’s emotional and features violin by Jessy Greene who is known for working with Foo Fighters on numerous occasions. The strings mixed with the piano add the perfect etherealness to the song that brings it to a new level. The next track ‘Blood In Gutters’ takes a 180 and is as sludgy as it sounds from the title alone. Repeating the mantra “find your weakness/go on/kill it,” with a deep guitar track and foreboding drums, this song drags you through the mud, swallows you up, and spits you back out again. As another favorite of mine off the album I’m sure ‘Blood In Gutters’ will be a treat to hear live.

Topping off the album is the dark and sexy track ‘Party For Prostitutes.’ This song is probably my least favorite from the album but it’s unique and I’m far from disliking it. It showcases Dalle’s voice well although it seems a bit overproduced it’s not enough to keep from overshadowing the song by any means. With Brody being hidden from the business for a few years it was very real possibility of this album sounding stale but even on the weaker tracks it still rocks hard and shows a new side to Brody Dalle. I love seeing punk ladies evolving their music with age and the times. The sound is grown up but not jaded. Diploid Love demonstrates all facets of Brody Dalle’s talent and shows that she’s got it all: brains, brawn, beauty, and kick ass jams.