Dum Dum effort solid, well rounded
by Michael Kraft, reporter

     “The British are coming! The British are coming!”
     When this call rang out in 1776, it meant the British Army, fighting and war. In 1964, it meant the Beatles and new fashions, and that invasion was welcomed with open arms.
     By the year 2000, the British have firmly set their place on American soil, and the American debut of It Goes Without Saying by British pop/punk trio the DUM DUMS is a good reason to allow them to stay.
     It Goes Without Saying is a solid first effort. Songs such as Hole In Your Heart and Can’t Get You Out of My Thoughts are catchy, power-chord laden numbers, while the band showcases its softer acoustic side on Until My Ship Comes In and Lonely Hearts Company.
     It is a well-rounded disc that is decidedly English. It is more raw, edgy and less poppy than American rockers Green Day and Blink-182.
     On the other hand, it lacks the attitude, edge and sincerity that has characterized British pop/punk since the Sex Pistols and The Clash.
     Band members Josh Doyle (guitar and vocals), Steve Clarke (bass) and Stuart “Baxter” Wilkinson (drums) have a good genre-defining sound.
     The music and lyrics are full of attitude, angst and anger, but have enough pop hooks, memorable riffs and vocal harmonies to pull it out of the hardcore category. Still, the band tries to appeal to a more diverse audience than maybe it should.
     While the music will attract fans of the genre, the band’s immaculately clean-cut, well manicured, almost boy-band cuteness will attract teenyboppers.
     This image makes the listener occasionally question the sincerity of the music since the band’s image and its music are occasionally incongruous.
     Does this make It Goes Without Saying a bad album? No.
     The music is catchy and bright; the lyrics are memorable, and unlike the aforementioned boy-bands, these guys actually write their own material and play their own instruments.
     This album gets better every time it is listened to, and with the DUM DUMS sweeping across England like the plague, it was only a matter of time before they hit American shores.
      Punk/pops fans should definitely give this disc a chance; they’ll certainly be surprised.