I am known at least a little for my somewhat bizarre taste in music. I'm not big into the R&B or rap genres but I do like my stuff to be a bit quirky and have a good edge to them.

Step forward the American band, The Dresden Dolls, comprised of lead singer/pianist Amanda Palmer and the multi talented Brian Viglione, who mainly plays the drums for the two piece. The reason why they are for the most part unique is because of the fact that there are just two of them; unlike The White Stripes, they lack a guitarist or indeed a bassist so their sound is intensely focused on the piano and percussion instruments.

Whilst this gives them their intriguing style, the band refer to their style as being 'Brechtian Punk Cabaret' as a ploy to avoid the world 'gothic' being used as a way to describe them. However, in spite of that, it's extremely difficult to not associate that word with them; their lyrics are for the most part dark, sordid tales of childhood and teenage angst, which are supposedly autobiographical on the part of Palmer.

Let's put it this way; if they are true tales she has had one hell of a rough life!

But before I paint an almost impossibly bleak picture of this band, I want to make it pretty clear that the album manages - on a number of occasions - to make light of these situations and venture into different territories of writing. I will say here and now that it won't be for everybody; it's raw, in your face and honest, which is extremely admirable and valuable to the two pieces overall sound and attraction.

THE BAND AND I
Despite meeting and forming in 2001, it took the band almost two years to pluck up enough courage to release their first official album. There were EP's and demos, namely 'A is for Accident', but the self titled, 12 track, set was the sole reason why many people on the alternative music scene finally took notice. And rightfully so, on most accounts.

I first discovered the Dresden Dolls after a friend sent me a video to the sixth track on the album, 'Coin-Operated Boy'. It's an interesting one, as you'll discover, and could have easily stopped me from trying anything else by the duo because of its extreme nonconformity.

Yet, I was instantly addicted by midway through the song but I can't pinpoint exactly why I loved it. It should have been detestable; the cheery, corny piano tune that should be better suited to a seaside town's summer extravaganza against the idealistically joyous lyrics with the undercurrents of darkness wouldn't usually appeal to me.

However, here it did and I was instantly hooked, listening to the song time after time and not tiring of it in the slightest.

When I got the album a couple of years ago for my birthday, I wasn't under any allusion that if the rest of the album was like this than I wouldn't like it; 'Coin-Operated Boy' is a track that should stand alone in the bands test to produce a half way diverse tune.

The track listing for the group's first effort is as follows:
1) Good Day (5.27 minutes)
2) Girl Anachronism (2.58 minutes)
3) Missed Me (4.51 minutes)
4) Half Jack (5.56 minutes)
5) 672 (1.24 minutes)
6) Coin-Operated Boy (4.46 minutes)
7) Gravity (4.17 minutes)
8) Bad Habit (2.59 minutes)
9) The Perfect Fit (5.44 minutes)
10) The Jeep Song (4.47 minutes)
11) Slide (4.30 minutes)
12) Truce (8.34 minutes)

THE ALBUM
Good Day
The album's opening track is one of the most important on the entire album and starts as it means to go on; the contrast of the dark lyrics and interchangeable melodies work profoundly well here. Although the softness of the piano eases the listener into the song, the explosion of heavy drum beats and rough electric guitars adds an aggressive trademark to the bands music. Although many of the tracks lack the guitar element as shown here, it fits incredibly well with the overall tone of the song, seemingly about a girl who has just split with her lover. Whilst the tale might not sound exactly groundbreaking, because of that reason, it's easier to identify with the band as opposed to some of the more obscure tracks a bit later on. I loved the way the album began with the gentle tune of a jewellery box which added to the experimental side of the band whilst staying true to the rest of the sound.

Marks out of 10 - 9.5: Brilliant in many ways but there is an annoying jingle at the end that separates itself from the main body of the song entirely. It was a bit indulgent and unnecessary in many ways so I always skip it when I listen to the album. None the less, a solid choice for not only the opening track but for the first single by the band.

Girl Anachronism
Written by Amanda about her notion of 'being out of time' as she was born prematurely by Caesarean, 'Girl Anachronism' portrays a much angrier, questioning story based on these principals. Its rawness is partly the reason why it's easy to fall in love with the song; although short, it's long enough for the listener to really get a sense of her bitterness with the piano and drum combination really working well against her roaring, screeching vocals on this second single. It's the first of a long line of tracks that take the listener down on an unfamiliar, dangerous road but that manages to come out a little lighter than it began.

Marks out of 10: 9 - The only issue I think that I have with the song is that it is perhaps a bit too autobiographical in some ways. Whilst that is good as a way to really understand her unique personality, it may be a bit confusing in terms of lyrics, a trait which follows through most of the album.

Missed Me
Starting out like 'Good Day' with the whispering vocals and toned down piano, 'Missed Me' is the first track where it is really, really difficult to understand the lyrics. The melody soon descends into clonking pianos which add to the trauma elements of the song; it was written about an impressionable young lady being completely manipulated by an older man who should know better. After the loud and proud number beforehand, this was a good change of pace in many ways and, as a listener, you get the impression that it was written at a time of extreme drunkenness. Well, at least if the impressive vocal performance is anything to go by!

Marks out of 10: 8.5 - The storytelling element of this song is one of the reasons why the Dresden Dolls are treasured amongst many alternative music fans; they are completely traumatic tales with both the melodies and lyrics bleeding through. Here is one of the strongest examples of this and I think Amanda's hissing to husky vocals endorse this extremely well.

Half Jack
The first few moments of 'Half Jack' sound a little like the previous track but that highlights much of the limitation of using two instruments; you don't get a lot of sound variation, especially not with a piano and drum kit. However, the hushed singing returns and once again a forlorn affair is revisited, perhaps from Amanda's childhood in which she reveals that she can't possibly be he Father's daughter, claiming it's half biology and half corrective medical treatment that have corrupted each other. Again, it's a really unusual topic for a song but one that I think worked well with the darker elements of the tune which got progressively tenser before an insurmountable outburst at the end.

Marks out of 10: 9 - an updated version of Jack and Jill for the adults. It's striking from the very first time you listen to it, mainly because of the interesting philosophy behind it and partly because of the heartbreaking vocal performance. Fantastic!

672
For the sake of not marking the band down for this, I'll just say that this song is impossibly pointless; it's rather like an instrumental but with the words 672 being repeated over and over and over again. It just doesn't make much sense so I always skip it because it's not exactly a force to be reckoned with in terms of music.

Coin-Operated Boy
This was the first track that I ever heard by the band and is perhaps the most well known of all their tracks. To be fair, the first 30 seconds of my first listening didn't bode well for the track; to me, the annoying, flickering chiming like sound was a bit childish. However, giving the song a chance, it occurred to me that it was meant to be this way. The story of the song is one where the lady is fed up with dating men who just aren't for her. So, she makes one herself, one that constantly tells her how wonderful she is, even if he can't show emotion like other men. Sounds perfect and indeed it is once you get use to the bizarre sound within the song.

Marks out of 10: 9 - perhaps not the best representation of their work but in many ways, through the unusual choice of words and interesting background noises, it's a stand out track on the debut album by the Dolls.

Gravity
'Gravity' is one of those tracks that could have suffered dreadfully because of the undeniable quirkiness of its predecessor; thankfully, it didn't and turned out to be as equally as interesting as 'Coin-Operated Boy'. It's an odd little narrative about its title; how gravity can play tricks on people, but you can't change it because of it just, well, being there. If I hadn't heard it myself, I would have thought it to be impossible to write a four minute long song about it but the duo managed it in a perfectly respectable manner! It's change of pace at many points makes the song stand lout against some of the others who stay within the time frame of its first verse but here, it really makes a statement.

Marks out of 10: 8.5 - it might not stand out lyrically as being a fantastic track but I think that on the second or third listen, it reveals it subtle greatness in an almost unintentional fashion. The vocals of Amanda boost the listening experience into something quite magical.

Bad Habit
Although it's an ailment I've never suffered from - thankfully - 'Bad Habit' seems to be an ode to self harming, predominantly the slashing of wrists. It in fact isn't; Amanda wrote it about her obsession with tearing skin from around her nails and eating it. Yummy. This is obviously where the art of peculiar story telling starts to separate the knowledgeable listener from bystanders like me who simply try and empathise with what is being said ('try' being the operative word...). However, I wouldn't say the division is too great; the ironic tone of the vocals make it a much more accessible song than you may credit it for and the sharp start immediately makes it a forceful, rabid track. The distorted vocal efforts midway through shows the band in a bit of a different light, making 'Bad Habit' an enjoyable track to listen to time after time.

Marks out of 10: 9 - It's a fast paced number that the album drastically needed as it's been lacking since track number two. And seemingly, from here to the very end of the album...

The Perfect Fit
Here is where the album began to drastically halt. By halt, I mean for the most part get a bit boring. Where as the previous numbers have concentrated on dark themes made lighter by the bands wonderful, satirical ways of writing, here, depression veils any notion of happiness. The shadowy vocal performance returns and enforces the songs questioning of whether a person is quite good enough; the thoughts of 'I can't' are quickly replaced with the idea of the person actually being able to do something. Sadly, the music leads the words to a darker sphere which as a song, it never quite recovers from but the notion of a person being like a piece of clothing is an interesting analogy but is never played upon to its full advantage on this one.

Marks out of 10: 7.5 - dreary but a perfectly respectable ballad effort. Sadly, it's really not my thing and lets the album down in my view quite considerable.

The Jeep Song
This one I think divides most fans of the Dresden Dolls; either they love 'The Jeep Song' or they hate it. The track is a bit like 'Coin-Operated Boy' in the sense that its dark topic is masked by a cheery, although out of place, tune. Here, however, this juxtaposition is too great for the first 30 seconds of the track and makes me cringe every time I hear it. Amanda's self pitying storytelling is at its unbearable level here, which sets the song off in a pretty grim place. However, it grows into something much more interesting a diverse but it's just a shame that the first half a minute is so bland and uninspiring.

Marks out of 10: 7.5 - the lyrics are some of the most ironically funny on the album, saving this song considerably but many people may have already hit the 'skip' button before they get a chance to experience this.

Slide
No matter how many times I listen to the album, this is always the track that 'Slides' past my attention (ha ha - not!). Like with 'The Perfect Fit', the vocals are low but here, they are too low to be distinguished. Perhaps the band wanted to put its listeners into a deep coma but this point, I don't know. However, when you do read the lyrics, it takes a similar strand to 'Miss Me' and 'Bad Habit' by localising its topic to such a minority audience. This time, it explores a young girl's innocence being lost at the hands of a corruptive male in which she never fully recovers from. So - as you can guess - another light hearted song by the Dolls!

Marks out of 10: 6 - in theory, this could have been a stand out track; when you see the lyrics for yourself, they are very heartfelt and curious but, because of the slow, tedious tune which fails to shock in the same way the lyrics do, it's perhaps the albums lowest point and not a good one as you near the end of their first showcase.

Truce
With the album drawing to its conclusion, you might perhaps be hoping for a real hard hitting number, one to make up for the misery of its forerunner. Alas, that doesn't happen and I wasn't expecting it to; the final tracks on alternative bands albums are notorious for being much more measured, taking into consideration Placebo's 'Burger Queen' on the album 'Without You I'm Nothing' and 3Door's Down 'Here By Me'. 'Truce' is unfortunately not the exception to the rule, but the tune does build up quite considerably towards the dying minutes of the track but, by this point, you are sick of the track. It drags on for far too long and is too boring to captivate a listener at this crucial stage of an album. In my opinion, it's not a great last impression of the Dresden Dolls' debut album

Marks out of 10: 6.5 - it is mildly better than 'Slide' because it picks up a little towards the end but the revolutionary style of the lyrics just seems a bit pretentious considering its the bands first release. A real shame after so many original, epic pieces.

ARTWORK AND PRESENTATION
Image is everything on the alternative music scene; you can't be too different to deter some people from trying your music but you need to be quirky enough to grab the attention in the first place. Where some of their songs might fail to do that, the Dresden Doll's self portrayal, as well as their albums artwork, is stunningly different and menacing although, with respect to their sound, it certainly won't appeal to many.

I can't say it does to me that much either but I do admire the groups never ending optimism for the art if creativity. The sepia tones of the front cover, boasting an overtly Romantic picture of the duo, sets up one of the over riding themes of the album with the overly possessive attitudes towards a lover or partner. Within the photo frames too, it makes it seem very artistic and original, playing on their name more than anything.

Which leads me to their even more bizarre booklet; although the back cover is fine, showing the contrast between the bombing of Dresden and the doll that was protected in an air raid shelter (as Amanda explained in an interview, she was keen to put across that the band were two extremes, hence the name), the front page holds a naked painting of the two band mates. I'm not remotely attracted to girls so this was a bit of a shock when I first saw it, especially with the extraordinary amount of details for some of the finer aspects of Palmer's figure.

Certainly quirky and reactionary, as the groups music intends to be which - thankfully for some tracks - is aided by the lyrics provide; once you get past the initial shock of seeing a pair of boobies when you pull out the booklet!

The album itself is presented in a cardboard foldout cover which is a bit different and makes the album seem a little regal. A nice touch to the story telling, exaggerated aspect of the band, where the album in itself is a musical novel of sordid sagas and regrettable experiences.

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
As I got this for my birthday the other year, I don't know exactly how much was paid. However, at the moment, you can purchase the album at the following prices:

Amazon.co.uk: £8.98 (eligible for free super saver delivery)
Play.com: £8.95 (free delivery)
Cdwow.co.uk: £10.75 (free delivery)
DVD.co.uk: £10.29 (free delivery)
Zavvi.co.uk: £13.00 (free delivery)

IN COMPARISON TO THEIR OTHER ALBUM, 'YES VIRGINIA'
Although I love this album, their follow up 'Yes Virginia' to me is show stopping. It falls into a similar trap as this album does, where it goes through a bit of a dry spell in terms of the track being consistently unique. Yet, where this one doesn't maintain this stance by the resolution, the Dresden Doll's second album manages to do this perfectly on a much more profound level.

It seems as if the band, upon this release, were still trying to nurse their past issues into a containable dose of reality. By 'Yes Virginia', these issues translated into non stop, fantastic numbers which can really captivate - I believe - a bit of a wider audience. Sure, some of the stories contain their crass moments and might not be suitable to be played in front of your Granny but it is a fantastic album.

However, don't discount 'The Dresden Dolls'; it's an album that is hugely important in displaying a much fuller, matured and overall intriguing sound but this first album is essential beforehand to really get into the cabaret style which the band adopt to an even greater degree on 'Yes Virginia'.

OVERALL
I am not going to kid anybody about this album; it certainly isn't for the fainthearted in places, as it does deal with some quite questionable themes, as the parental advisory logo suggests. However, this is a product of the genre as opposed to anything else; the group are an alternative duo whose expression and relationship is geared towards like minded people. Not to say that I am. However, I do like my music to be fairly original and that is what you get here.

This minority type attitude isn't the only thing that may stop this album being amongst many people's CD collections. The remaining four tracks are ones that I nearly always skip in favour of either their other album or something else because they are frankly dull. Also, Amanda's vocal performances can be a little too over the top in places, borderline stupid without a purpose.

However, her vocal style is also one of the band's biggest and best advantages. It fits in perfectly with the groups overall, theatrical, passionate appeal and builds many tracks into something nothing short of spectacular, as it enhances the uncompromising lyrics of tracks such as 'Good Day' and 'Coin-Operated Boy', creating a sound which is awesome in its appeal.

So, if you are a fan of weird and wonderful music, I implore you to give the Dresden Dolls a go. It's not going to appeal to everyone which is its main downfall. Yet, it's also the bands major benefit, proving that music isn't always about roaring guitars and synthesizers.

A fantastic yet daunting listening experience!