Yes, VirginiaDresden Dolls
Roadrunner, 2006
Numerical Feelings: 6.1
The Dresden Dolls follow up their debut with a disappointment that is as puzzling and full of wonder as its predecessor. But, in, you know, a bad way. Like I wonder why this album is so disappointing; it is puzzling.
Where the band's frenetic dollhouse-of-horrors zeitgeist was darkly charming before, here it is awkward and more than a little unseemly; where the anorexic interplay of piano and drums strung out taut but tottering brilliance before, here it is fleshy and straight-forward and plain, no matter how hard it strives not to be, though it is certainly driving, propulsive, as such. Where the rare ventures into more organic and full sonic territory were grand and sweeping before, here they are rarer, and less rewarding anyhow.
Maybe nothing has really changed about the Dresden Dolls' production values, but their pop sensibilities have become far less acute. There are melodic recollections of Enya and bad 90s Morrissey and that Tears for Fears song here, and the band scarcely does anything to elevate their inspiration to any new heights, but rather applies to it a very studious and well-considered sense of timing. And when they are firmly in the loosely defined stretch of territory that may be called their own, it is still hard to pick out a single track that equals any of the best songs of their debut. The three tracks after 'First Orgasm' basically don't even try, though like everything else on this album they are more compelling at higher volumes, which brings out the bass-y thudding of the drum, which helps the, uh, hard-hitting pop assault of Yes, Virginia thrive, apparently.
Those new to the band will be enthralled by the sultry antics. Current fans will be excited, at first, by the brazen wild energy of the first track, but come to wonder where all the SOUL went.
-7.06.2006
Yes, Virginia is the sophomore effort of girl-boy duo Dresden Dolls, which expands on the sound of its predecessor without really advancing it.
Running Time: 55.23
Metacritic Score: 72
Track Listing:
01 Sex Changes*
02 Backstabber
03 Modern Moonlight
04 My Alcoholic Friends
05 Delilah
06 Dirty Business*
07 First Orgasm
08 Mrs O
09 Shores of California
10 Necessary Evil
11 Mandy Goes to Med School*
12 Me and the Minibar
13 Sing
(*: best to play)
(Metacritic belongs to CNET Networks, Inc. They give an accurate idea of general critical feeling.)
This Review Copyright twentypelicans.com, 2006
Running Time: 55.23
Metacritic Score: 72
Track Listing:
01 Sex Changes*
02 Backstabber
03 Modern Moonlight
04 My Alcoholic Friends
05 Delilah
06 Dirty Business*
07 First Orgasm
08 Mrs O
09 Shores of California
10 Necessary Evil
11 Mandy Goes to Med School*
12 Me and the Minibar
13 Sing
(*: best to play)
(Metacritic belongs to CNET Networks, Inc. They give an accurate idea of general critical feeling.)
This Review Copyright twentypelicans.com, 2006