The Dresden Dolls
Issue #27
Yes, Virginia (Roadrunner)
By Chris Sherman
Published: March 1st, 2006 | 12:00am
Following a reasonably well-received debut and some heavy touring (including a stint opening for Nine Inch Nails), the Dresden Dolls return with their sophomore album, Yes, Virginia. The most immediate difference from their previous release is that the Dolls’ gloomy cabaret/show tune mix has been fitted with a big rock sound, and on more than half of the songs they let rip with deft, propulsive drumming and pretty but wild piano runs. Singer Amanda Palmer’s voice sounds better than ever and she flies above the racket to sing some very beautiful lines.
So that’s the good news. Unfortunately, the Dresden Dolls’ lyrics are still self-absorbed and cynical. Palmer’s lyrical concerns have become a bit cliché and, let’s face it, talking about fucking in pop songs hasn’t been shocking for the last 10 years. While the rock production is compelling, one becomes suspicious that it might be masking some weakness in the writing, which becomes particularly evident on the latter half of the album (by the time you reach “Me & the Minibar,” you realize that this is the third nearly identical ballad on the CD). This album quickly loses its ability to surprise you.
Despite the fact that the music, dealing with intimate sexual matters and detailing troubled relationships of all sorts, should be confessional or at least personal, it seems as though the Dresden Dolls hide behind songwriting convention and sonic sheen. This album may leave you wishing the Dolls had traded in their fancy production for a better set of tunes.
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