Rating: NNNN
While the name may conjure images of the Chipmunks or the Smurfs, this California duo’s music is anything but children’s fodder. Seamlessly fusing old-time jazz, folk, ragtime and vaudeville with effortlessly beautiful harmonies, Abby DeWald and Amanda Barrett play music that may initially sound like a throwback, but rest assured, no other generation has done anything like this. The closest comparison is to the Roches, not just because of the way the Ditty Bops harmonize, but also because of their ability to tell stories with infectiously childlike innocence and enthusiasm. Not every song registers, and the album’s not as musically diverse as it could be, but you’ll keep playing it again and again, which makes up for having to defend liking a band called the Ditty Bops.
The Ditty Bops open for Blanche at the Horseshoe Monday (June 6).