Review: The Fizz Fuzz – Palmyra

After years of playing in bands such as Hermano and Orquestra del Desierto, Dandy Brown released his first solo album Scattered Days in 2018, a collection of songs covered in blues and desert rock with a twist of Southern California. I must still play this album once a week as it sounds as fresh today as when the songs were written and I still think someone needs to give it the magic vinyl re-release treatment.

So, role on a couple of years and Dandy is back with a collaboration of songs with Dawn Brown (nee Rich), now his wife, under the title The Fizz Fuzz.

Hereby roles in like a classic 70’s convertible heading out into the heat of the Californian desert. With that laid back grooving guitar riff that Dandy is so good at writing mixed with Dawn’s more intricate guitar work and solo’s that really elevate the first four minutes of the album. If I didn’t already know this was to be the single/video to promote the album, I would have picked it straight out as the warm fuzzy classic to get people’s heads nodding.

Collapse continues with the fuzzy guitars and slowly drifts through the warm night sky with a more trippy psychedelic feel to it. Both guitars soar in and out, and if you close your eyes you can picture the oil mixed with coloured water effect as you’re taken out to that place and beyond. Like in Hereby, you instantly know Dandy’s vocals as they are so distinctive on their own and when harmonised here sound so good.

If Dark Horse II sounds familiar, that’s because it was original recorded as a Hermano track. It still has that raw dark feel to it, which would sit well on a film soundtrack with its acoustic strum that holds the verse’s together. You can make the comparisons with John Garcia’s vocals, but the vocal harmonies with Dawn over the chorus really tops the track off. Everything about the song has you thinking dark grey filmography work.

Following on in the same slow meandering mood is Shame. Starting off with just vocals and distant guitars, Shame builds into a slow moody affair with a simple but affective guitar line that goes up then down over the chorus and vocal harmonies. Then just as you think you know the lay of the song, both guitars kick the saloon doors open and let rip in style for 90 seconds, before Shame slowly drifts off into the night.

Conditional Love flips a totally different switch with a lighter, cleaner, uplifting sound with Dawn taking vocal duties. It sounds positive and paints a picture of new beginnings. Midway through there’s a really good lighter psych solo that strums along nicely.

I’m really digging Dawn’s vocal whaling throughout Dear Old that has that desert sound and mixes well over Dandy’s voice. The track has that warm fuzzy feel again but this time the guitars feel a lot more powerful and the leading riff really hooks you in and hold’s everything together and is, again, a real head nodder.

The album closes with Loose Lips and its big soaring guitar work then the dreamy drifting psychedelic Sunkissed.

I hope I am already preaching to the converted, but if not Palmyra stands up as a really good album that has that desert sound to it, but is a variation that is unique to what Dandy and Dawn are doing. They have managed to mix that gritty “Sons of Anarchy” biker soundtrack feel with a warm red fuzzy sunshine element to it which to me at least, has that Southern California big open road feel. The stand out bright red album artwork (produced by Dawn) may have contributed to this feeling.

The Fizz Fuzz also features performances from David Angstrom (Hermano/Luna Sol), Steve Earl (Afghan Whigs), Mike Callahan (Hermano/Earshot), Alice Albertazzi and Gianfranco Romanelli (Alice Tambourine Lover) and Mark Engel (Orquesta del Desierto).

Palmyra is being released on CD and digitally in Europe by Taxi Driver Records and Slush Fund Recordings Worldwide. Hopefully a vinyl version will be coming in the future as it more than deserves it.


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