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It’s hard to resist a singer who fully indulges her sexual obsessions on CD, especially when they involve songs about transsexuals and–to paraphrase a bit–girls who leave out used condoms on their bedroom dressers to make their boyfriends jealous. And that’s just Amanda Palmer in her tamer moments. As the mouthpiece for the carnival-like Dresden Dolls, she certainly knows how to scintillate. The Boston cabaret-punk duo’s second album is a no-holds-barred affair that sees h… More >>
#1 by T. Gramling on February 28, 2010 - 5:42 pm
There’s a fine line between low-fi and crappiness, and the Dresden Dolls need binoculars to see that line. The first time I heard the single “Backstabber,” I honestly thought it was a joke and/or a recording made by some middle school kids who were just starting to learn their instruments. One of the Dolls biggest gimmicks is the fact that it’s a two-piece, boy-girl band, a la the White Stripes. However, in this instance it just doesn’t work. The drum parts are often completely unrelated to and inappropriate for the song (e.g. the strange syncopations and stops in the chorus of “Backstabber’). The piano work is very simple and does not make up for the lack of other instruments. The singing is not for everyone, but to each his/her own.
If the Dresden Dolls did not look like they did-if they were a “normal” looking duo who didn’t dress up strangely and put tremendous effort into their image-they would never make it beyond high school coffee houses.
I know people will vote this review down by dubbing it not helpful. You probably wouldn’t be on this page unless you dig the Dolls and/or the whole high-image crappy-music scene. But I felt like I had to post this, because the Dresden Dolls have no right climbing the charts when honest-to-goodness solid musicians/songwriters all over the country go unnoticed.
Rating: 1 / 5
#2 by Wes on February 28, 2010 - 6:31 pm
After listening to this I decided it’s a cross between Aimee Mann and Justine Frischmann of Elastica, but with pianos taking the places of guitars. Decent enough, though I won’t be listening to it ever again.
Rating: 2 / 5
#3 by Hey, alright, okay! on February 28, 2010 - 7:46 pm
Look, musical tastes are opinionated and in the eye of the beholder. So anyone among the likes of “I am the revenant” that wants to come on here and tell us how much the dresden dolls suck, quit wasting your time. we’re obviously on here because we enjoy the band, because in OUR OPINION they make good music. why are you on here? if you don’t like the music, then don’t come on here just to tell everyone else how you don’t like it. you’re a waste of breath. there is no universal acceptance that a band is good or bad, it’s just human like or dislike. you can go back to listening to the misfits, which, IN MY OPINION, suck.
alright, that being said…this album is great. buy it now.
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by Garrison on February 28, 2010 - 10:35 pm
Ah, yes… The Dresden Dolls. A band only a rock critic and name checking hipsters could love.
The term “cabaret punk” is being thrown about in almost every review of the band’s music. It is more like just “cabaret” as in Cabaret the musical and movie. The Dolls are seemingly in love with Germany’s Weimar Republic of the 1920s, in love with it’s sex, it’s gender bending, it’s decadence and it’s dark carnival atmosphere. The bands execution of the music is pitch perfect… for an off-broadway musical. For a rock and/or punk record a lot is left to be desired.
Kudos to the “Dolls” for single handily inventing a new genre term for the rock music critical lexicon. By all means buy this if you are a fan of the musical “Cabaret” or Bertolt Brecht, all others beware.
Rating: 2 / 5
#5 by D on February 28, 2010 - 11:12 pm
Yikes! This is pretty bad. I’m a big fan of the first album, but something is really lacking on this one. The lyrical wit is still there, and some of the piano work is nice…but the vocals are grating, and most of the songs are either irritating or uninteresting.
I expected a great second album, or at least a decent one, but this just isn’t it. I’ve come back to it a few times, hoping it would grow on me, but no luck. I’m pretty surprised…hopefully they’ll improve with their next release, but I definitely wouldn’t buy another Dresden Dolls album without hearing it first.
Rating: 2 / 5