Brody Dalle is best known as the frontwoman for the disbanded punk group The Distillers, where her lyrics were fighting words more often shrieked or snarled than sung.

Now, Dalle is a solo artist who isn’t fighting anymore.

Her debut solo album, “Diploid Love,” was released Monday. It’s more alternative rock than punk, and it shows Dalle is more lyrically self-assured than she’s ever been before.

Dalle spent eight years in The Distillers fighting against the grain, with lyrics often on the defense. She seemed so concerned about looking strong — unbreakable, even — that she ended up looking like she was trying too hard.

“Diploid Love” shows a much more confident, comfortable Dalle, with lyrics that still show her going against the norm, but in a much less abrasive manner.

“I got the feeling I can break, I love anything bad standing in my way,” Dalle sings on “Don’t Mess With Me.” “Never let yourself give in when you’re trying to start again,” she croons on “Dressed In Dreams.”

There is a clear theme throughout “Diploid Love” of Dalle coming into her own, clawing her way out of any boxes she’s been placed in. But she still manages to take what she’s learned from her musical endeavors and put it all to even better use.

After The Distillers broke up in 2006, Dalle and The Distillers guitarist Tony Bradley formed Spinnerette, a much tamer, pop-inspired group that had many fans of Dalle’s blistering punk music in an uproar.

Though Spinnerette wasn’t bad, Dalle has struck a balance between her pop sensibilities and her rock ‘n roll edge with “Diploid Love.”

The first track, “Rat Race,” with its distorted power chords and driving drums, starts off sounding like it could have been on The Distillers’ last album, “Coral Fang.”

Until Dalle starts singing, that is. Her voice still has that nonchalant attitude characteristic of punk acts, her words lazily running into one another as if she can’t be bothered with enunciation. But her tone is clean. The gravel in her voice is nowhere to be heard until the chorus, which actually makes her growls all the more effective.

Another element that sets “Rat Race” apart from Dalle’s punk portfolio is the inclusion of horns. Bold, brassy trumpets augment the chorus, throwing off any preconceived notions of genre that listeners may have had.

These assumptions are even further obliterated by “Don’t Mess With Me,” the third track on the album and the first to sound more like Spinnerette than The Distillers. The song is driven by a straightforward pop beat on the drums and an exposed bass line straight out of the ‘80s.

That sound is one that pops up throughout the album, especially on “Dressed In Dreams.” With a heavy, exposed bass line, strong snare back-beat and swirling, atmospheric guitars, the song sounds like a B-side from The Cure’s “Pornography.”

Despite Dalle’s skillful blend of punk, alternative rock and pop on her solo album, there are a few hiccups.

The only song on the album that really stands out as a dud is “I Don’t Need Your Love,” which shows Dalle singing completely in her head voice. While her choice to do this was a brave one, the end result is the most unlistenable song on the record. Singing in such a high range left her delivery less expressive — she sounds bored.

Aside from her vocals, the song also features a strange interlude with a toddler giggling while violin strings are plucked in the background. The moment doesn’t fit with the rest of the song at all and the song in its entirety doesn’t seem to belong on the album.

Another downfall is how repetitive the album can be. Even though it’s only nine tracks long, by the end, the listener has had quite enough of mid-tempo alternative rock with subdued verses and explosive choruses. It becomes formulaic.

But when the formula works, it really works. “Blood In Gutters” has one of the simplest but most infectious choruses on the album.

“Find your weakness. Go on, kill it,” Dalle snarls in the chorus. Despite the album’s imperfections, with “Diploid Love,” Dalle has done just that.

Published on April 29, 2014 at 1:00 am

Contact Jessica: jmcabe@syr.edu | @Jessica_Cabe