Dilly Dally aren’t interested in taking things slow. The garage punk outfit out of Toronto, fronted by singer Katie Monks, starts fast and ends faster on “Desire,” their new single out now on Partisan Records in the US and Buzz Records in Canada. Just as Little Richard’s yelps and squeals on squeaky-clean staples like “Tutti Frutti” drip with sex appeal, so too does “Desire” show the punk sensibilities hiding in plain sight on pop ballads.
Like a high school couple after their prom, loud pleasantries in “Desire”provide the briefest possible introduction to the main event—no foreplay required. A short feedback section gives way to a full pop breakdown whose fuzzed-out rhythm section and squealing melodic leads (courtesy of guitarist Liz Ball) produces a sound as loud and intricate as a punk rock big band. In an emailed statement to The Fader, Monks quips that “[“Desire” is] about a huge sexual release, but it’s also about fantasies, youth, and purity.” That oppositional dialectic—between pop song that needn’t wait four minutes to hit its most saccharine notes and rebellious moment of uncontrollable feedback—characterizes rejuvenating desire (the concept and the song). It’s a fullness, but, simultaneously, a hunger, with devious intent that wishes to corrupt the innocence of the present. “What can I say,” concludes Monks, “happiness is a struggle, but the last thing I’d ever want you or anyone else to do is give up that fight.”
“Desire” is the lead single from Sore, due out on October 9 on Partisan. You can stream it below.
