Track Listing

1. Walk or Ride
2. Wishful Thinking
3. Ooh La La
4. Sister Kate
5. Breeze Black Night
6. Gentle Sheep
7. Pale Yellow
8. Four Left FEet
9. There's A Girl
10. Unfortunate Few
11. Short Stacks
12. Wake Up

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54043 in Music
• Brand: DITTY BOPS
• Released on: 2004-10-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .9 pounds

Album Description
When Mitchell Froom (Suzanne Vega, Crowded House, Elvis Costello) produces a debut album, it is well worth taking notice. Thanks to their strangely beautiful voices, magnetic personalities, brilliant playing,bizarre storytelling and stunningly diverse range,The Ditty Bops —the duo of Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald —earned his attention. A musical celebration embracing everything from contemporary folk pop to ragtime to musical theater, their self-titled debut is as gloriously unique as their name.

Amazon.com
As charming as the McGarrigle Sisters and pulsating as a scaled-down Lucious Jackson, Los Angeles duo The Ditty Bops call upon a 20th century grab bag of musical trends for the dozen songs that make up their eccentric debut album. Abby DeWald (vocals, acoustic guitar) and Amanda Barrett (vocals, mandolin, dulcimer) employ their effortless harmonies as instruments as they sashay through an influential spectrum that spans Bix Beiderbecke’s swinging twenties, through the Hot Club Quintet of France by way of Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys, and into the contemporary experimentation of producer Mitchell Froom (Elvis Costello, Suzanne Vega). The lyrics may never garner a Walt Whitman prize ("Why does blood turn brown when it dries?" and "Why can’t white people play the blues?" the Bops wonder in "Wishful Thinking"), but they do offer the perfect, sing-a-long complement for the twosome’s intoxicating, foot-tapping melodies. Give the record three spins. You’ll know every song. --Scott Holter

Customer Reviews

My new favorite CD
The Ditty Bops' debut album is phenomenal, chock full of absolutely amazing material. The two girls' voices complement each other in a way that is very rare and special. Their collaborative songwriting is so unique and wonderful... They have a lot of things to say, and they do a great job of it with creative songs with daring lyrics that you just can't help but love. Few groups could sound so pretty singing about "dried up mucus in my nose." And few groups that wrote a line about mucus would also write a song as profound and beautiful as "Unfortunate Few". I recommend this CD to...well, everyone, really. I don't see how anyone could not adore this fabulous new duet.

Ditty bop
Sometimes in the musical world, it seems like innovation is dead and new musical sounds are impossible. That all we'll ever get is endless regurgitation of past musical glories.

Then we hear a band like the Ditty Bops.

The quirky duo's debut album is a playful, whimsical collection of offbeat pop-folk, with an edge of carnival cuteness. This is an album where a bluesy melody can suddenly be broken by a strange merry-go-round sound, and where harmonies are the rule. In other words, all rules go out the window.

At their core, most of these are just acoustic guitar pop. Acoustic with a twist: some are catchy, some are bluesy, folky, country, and even alt-rocky in the banjo-laden rocker "There's A Girl." Surprisingly, all of these different styles fit together almost seamlessly.

But the guitar pop is not the main thing that makes the Ditty Bops charming. Actually, they would be fairly boring if it weren't... well, dressed up a little. What gives their songs an element of charm is the offbeat songwriting and the odd music -- they have everything from keyboard washes to dulcimer, mandolin to trombone and banjo.

And yet, the most charming aspect of the Ditty Bops is the old-fashioned vibe. Maybe it's the vocal harmonies, or the folky melodies. But the album has the sound of a long-lost folk-pop album that got buried, and only recently was dug up and released. Yes, even with songs about dried blood, marital murder, modern soullessness, and a "mechanical lady with her garden hose waters the cement."

Abby DeWald and Amanda Barrett both do vocal duty. At the same time. Yes, they manage to harmonize on every single song, on virtually every note. They sound refreshingly sweet, no matter how strange their songs are. "But me, I'd rather plant a tree/that grows up tall for all to see/until I need a pencil/then I'll chop it to the ground."

The Ditty Bops manage to be charming, cute, edgy and funny -- all on the same album. Definitely a memorable and fun debut.

Just plain damn fun
If you are a fan of The Roches or Kate & Anne McGarrigle, you will love these gals. I've seen others compare them to old style jazz or some other retro movement (whatever!) . I feel that this is just good, clean sounding pop, with wonderful harmonies. This winter, when you have a day that looks like it might be the beginning of Spring, pop in this disc, roll down the windows, stick a smile on your face and turn up the jams. (In fact, this disc might just make the Sun come out).