by Greg Adams
Dolly Mixture was like a female version of the Undertones, creating catchy and concise punk-pop gems (emphasis on "pop") that made them a flavor of the week in England in the late '70s. They released only four commercial singles, but recorded a pile of demos that the band self-released as a double album in 1983 after mismanagement had halted their forward momentum. Demonstration Tapes is a 1995 CD reissue of that double album, packing 27 lost girl group classics onto one disc. So many of these songs are simply amazing that it's hard to pick favorites, but "Will He Kiss Me Tonight" has "hit" written all over it. The sound quality is a little muffled, but all the charm and pure-pop songcraft manages to shine through. Dolly Mixture could have been as big as the Go-Gos, and Demonstration Tapes is the proof.