1 DUM DUM GIRL The album opens on an acoustic piano riff, complete with fluttery flute sounds and percussion instruments, laying a foundation of interesting textures, before segueing into the more standard instrumentation. From here, it’s back to business as usual, with synths set to a driving 4/4 beat and Webb’s bass upfront in the mix. Until, that is, they adopt a subversive trick, so favoured by the Pixies, going full throttle in the pre-chorus bridge before dropping it down to an almost ‘anti-chorus’, stripping it right back once more for the main “Dum Dum Girl” refrain. Here, the vocal delivery resembles a revolving monastic chant at odds with the lyrical imagery. The title is a sly nod to Iggy Pop’s Dum Dum Boys (which incidentally also inspired the similarly named, band Dum Dum Girls). This would be the third (and least successful) single from the LP.
2 SUCH A SHAME Lyrically, this early highlight takes its premise from Hollis’ favourite book, The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart (a dark cult classic in the vein of A Clockwork Orange or Crash). The book presents the account of a psychiatrist who makes life decisions based purely on the roll of a dice, with often extremely disturbing consequences. Echoing Brian Eno’s fabled ‘Oblique Strategies’ cards, Hollis apparently deployed the dice technique himself in writing the lyrics, picking phrases from pieces of paper based on the number he rolled.
Hollis’ love of jazz is subtly infused into the rock template, via some particularly muddy piano stabs in the verses. The album’s second single, it didn’t land in the UK, stalling at No.49. Conversely, it was a huge hit across Europe, helping to cement Talk Talk’s career on the continent, going to No.1 in Switzerland, while just missing out on the top spot in West Germany. It had an extra boost following Hollis’ death, reaching the Top 5 digital sales chart in France. Testament to its ongoing popularity in Europe, it was later covered by German pop artist, Sandra, in 2002, and Belgian star, An Pierlé, in 2013.