Album Review: Brody Dalle – Diploid Love

Brody Dalle is probably best known as the former lead singer of the disbanded punk/rock group The Distillers, the lead singer of alternative/rock band Spinerette, and notably the wife of Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme; fun and awesome fact. Putting her front womanly ways behind her (temporarily, who knows?), the Aussie born singer is going it alone and releasing her first solo record Diploid Love. With this album we can expect to hear Dalle’s renowned contralto voice (a fancy way of saying she sings in a lower range than many other female vocalists) and collaborations from the likes of Garbage’s Shirley Manson, Nick Valenci from The Vines and many more; it seems this record could have potential.

Diploid Love opens with a bang, it is all guitars, drums and vocal attitude with opener Rat Race; you could easily say this track draws influence from Garbage, Dalle sounds almost Shirley Mansonesque. Underworld proves consistent with the alternative rock sound Brody is aiming for, she is definitely a woman of power when it comes to belting out those notes and writing these tracks. Recent single Don’t Mess With Me again captures the attitude intended for the sound of the album, whereas Dressed In Dreams manages to be the most down key song thus far whilst still managing to master our intense experience. Carry On is a refreshing breath of air, the track stands out from its predecessors as it is opened and led by the piano which is played magically throughout the song.

Leading single Meet The Foetus/Oh The Joy is almost instrumentally reminiscent of some of QOTSA’s earlier work, however it seems a strange choice of a first single from Diploid Love; it doesn’t really stay with you too long after listening to it and isn’t exactly one of the album’s strongest points. We experience a whole new level to Dalle’s vocal abilities as she sings Don’t Need Your Love in falsetto, and with that powerful belt of a voice she has she backed it up with more power towards the end; probably the most girly we will hear from the songstress. It’s back to the heavy drums and roaring vibe with Blood In Gutters, reminding us that Dalle is a rough and tough when it comes to rocking out the tunes. Finally, second single and closing song Parties For Prostitutes is again a strange choice for a single; it does manage to showcase Dalle’s impressive roar, but it didn’t end Diploid Love with the bang it deserves.

Diploid Love is an impressive solo debut for Brody Dalle, who should be proud of her work. Thankfully she stuck with what she could do best, many front women who dare to branch out from their bands forget about their rock chick roots and write/record an overproduced solo record that name drops in the liner notes; but not Brody, she remained focused on her known ability and really delivered vocally, lyrically and chose the right people to collaborate with instrumentally. Diploid Love is definitely worth a listen.

Marcus Floyd