No Virginia [Digipak] - Dresden Dolls (The)

...themselves, namely Brechtian punk cabaret. No idea what it means but it looks good on a computer screen!


Technically, lead singer, pianist and songwriter Amanda Palmer and drummer Brian Viglione aren't together as the Dresden Dolls anymore. Well at least for the moment. Being on a sabbatical, in which Palmer decided to self indulge herself senseless with her solo debut 'Who Killed Amanda Palmer?' and Brian continued to work ...
...to drone on endlessly for no apparent reason so it cannot be accused of being pretentious or overzealous.


Unlike certain tracks on 'No, Virginia...'


'HEY JUDE YOU'VE FOUND HER SO GO INSTANT MESSAGE HER' (Lyric taken from 'Ultima Esperanza')
'Ultima Esperanza' is a track that you can either take or leave; it is by no means all that interesting or indeed groundbreaking but it's one of those tracks ... more

The Dresden Dolls are one of those amazing bands that are hard to categorize; not in the case of HIM where I lazily describe their genre as 'gothic' for the sake of it. The band from Boston, Ma are a bit different to all of that and instead of being gothic, the Dresden Dolls created their own genre for themselves, namely Brechtian punk cabaret. No idea what it means but it looks good on a computer screen!

Technically, lead singer, pianist and songwriter Amanda Palmer and drummer Brian Viglione aren't together as the Dresden Dolls anymore. Well at least for the moment. Being on a sabbatical, in which Palmer decided to self indulge herself senseless with her solo debut 'Who Killed Amanda Palmer?' and Brian continued to work on his drumming, having lectured at some pretty prestigious Universities across America, fans were left to answer the conundrum of who did exactly kill Amanda. The answer is possibly her home grown pretentiousness or perhaps she topped herself whilst realising just how bad some of her solo stuff is.

Anyway, back to the Dolls, and their third release, 'No Virginia...' which cannot technically be defined as their third record. You see, 'No Virginia' isn't anything new or utterly original but that was never the albums intention as its eleven tracks are a compilation of B-Sides and forgotten material from album number deux, 'Yes, Virginia'. It's unfair to expect this particular release to offer something groundbreaking as the bands previous efforts, from the self titled debut and indeed the 'Yes' version of 'No'; both had room for promise and there was a significant jump in the right direction; 'The Dresden Dolls', as a CD, had a raw, rough feel to it which makes 'Yes Virginia' seem slightly more polished on the first couple of listens. Really, in essence, 'No Virginia...' shouldn't be anything to get excited about; it is JUST an extension of the second album, nothing more, nothing less so it would be unfair to expect it to be something wondrous and new.

At the same time, however, releasing B-Sides and so-called forgotten material onto a CD is risky business; many bands suffer with their B-Sides because of the fact that they are poorer rip offs of their really successful single releases. Placebo break this mould; although their massive, top ten single 'Nancy Boy' is similar in spirit to the B-Side 'Slacker Bitch', the two are different and enjoyable listens for the fact that the band have sought to create two mildly different characters in the two songs. Both personas seem to be standing in the same line for endless sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll but somehow Placebo manage to pull both numbers off with intrigue and class. Perhaps 'class' wasn't the right word to describe a song about a woman who is said to be 'dripping sex from every pore'...

But it may seem irrelevant and time wasting to mention Placebo but really, there is a point to this name dropping other than for this review to bags a ridiculous number of Es for those who scroll through the entire thing in two seconds flat and realise it's an excellent piece of work without having read one sentence. Placebo and The Dresden Dolls are both cult heroes and they sing about similar things; Placebo's earlier work was dominated by the 'coming down' period after hefty nights of drug and sex binges and taking everything to excesses whilst the Dolls also concentrate on immoderations such as alcoholism and failed but indulgent relationships. I enjoy almost all of Placebo's B-Sides because they keep within those same boundaries and because I consider Palmer to be nearly a good a songwriter as Brian Molko, both in originality and depth, I was hoping but similar sentiments with regards to 'No, Virginia...'

Optimism is such a terrible trait...

'THIS HAPPY WORLD, THIS HAPPY WORLD...' (Lyric taken from 'Dear Jenny')
Opening the album with enough confidence and gumption as you would normally expect from the band, 'Dear Jenny' is pretty much your typical Dolls track; it exudes Amanda's regular, mildly dark storytelling whilst trying to put a positive spin on things through the contrasting sounds of forlorn lyrics and bouncy, dancing piano melodies. Think The Beatles 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' but in a more sordid context.

One thing that really annoys me about 'Dear Jenny' however is the fact that Amanda feels the need to shout her way through it as if she was a loud mouth parent at a football game (American soccer, of course) but it?s difficult to envisage her trying to sing this song in any way because of how she yells her way through it on this recording. It's a bit of a wasted opener in many ways because, with the piano plonking and urgent drum beat, this could have been a track to wake up the listener about half way through the album if need be but it is quite a catchy number and essentially prepares the listener for endless amounts of shouting later on ...

Unfortunately, the band decided to preach a similar sermon on track number two and the albums single release, 'Night Reconnaissance'. Although it's an interesting story, about a girl who was severely bullied at school and who finds love with the garden gnomes (I'm not kidding here, folks) that she has stolen from the grounds of the tormenters, it just sounds a bit like 'Dear Jenny' part two. Palmer's voice is normally quite nice; she's not always in tune, granted, but when your appeal is not directed at a mainstream audience this doesn't matter anyway; people in the underground music scene LIKE coarse vocals for the fact that they hate all things perfectionist. However, her voice on 'Night Reconnaissance' sounded spent and ruined the softer moments in there because it just didn't gel well with the piano driven parts.

For their faults, 'Dear Jenny' and 'Night Reconnaissance' do start the album in a way that many of the Dolls fans would expect them to; they are known for their happy-go-lucky melodies and somewhat disturbing lyrics (the Dresden Dolls, not the fans) and both tracks do welcome you back into such a world with open arms. They can both be somewhat enjoyable listening experiences but at the same time you do begin to wonder if the group are just one trick ponies; really, we've heard 'Dear Jenny' and 'Night Reconnaissance' before, just in a slightly different way.

Next up is 'The Mouse and the Model', a track which sounds spookily similar to 'Delilah', from their album 'Yes Virginia'. Both tracks promote a concoction of melodic and more forceful moments but 'The Mouse and the Model' veers off onto a similar tangent to the previous tracks on 'No, Virginia...' Why the chaotic vocals are necessary is beyond me but it's already wearing thin and we are on track number three! Oh dear...

Basically, 'The Mouse and the Model' has a 'calm before the storm' moment in which Amanda decides - perhaps regretfully - to stop screaming for a moment and it's just a piano tune before the electric guitar strums in slowly. It's a pleasant change to hear a guitar on a Dolls song; the majority of their material is compromised because they rarely use instruments other than the said pianos and drums so by adding a different musical element, at least a mildly different sound was nurtured during the six minutes of 'The Mouse and the Model'. Although it perhaps shouldn?t have done, track number three didn't seem to drone on endlessly for no apparent reason so it cannot be accused of being pretentious or overzealous.

Unlike certain tracks on 'No, Virginia...'

'HEY JUDE YOU'VE FOUND HER SO GO INSTANT MESSAGE HER' (Lyric taken from 'Ultima Esperanza')
'Ultima Esperanza' is a track that you can either take or leave; it is by no means all that interesting or indeed groundbreaking but it's one of those tracks you'll keep on whilst listening to the rest of 'No, Virginia...' but you are unlikely to give it a second thought later on. It's not a memorable track, not by any means.

The thing that I think irks me most about this track is that Palmer seems to think she can use lyrics from a sincere and remarkable track like 'Hey Jude' in this average and overall boring ensemble. Normally, I don't mind music that is tongue in cheek and she's pulled it off before. The song 'My Alcoholic Friends' from 'Yes Virginia' ripped off the Tears for Fears song 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' by claiming that she'd be 'taking shots for Mother Nature' rather than turning her back on Mother Nature. I always chuckle at that part of 'My Alcoholic Friends' because in my humble opinion, the original sucks.

However, anyone with an ounce of good hearing will recognise 'Ultima Esperanza' to be an average, annulled track which doesn't deserve the right to take such a classic song and twist it around, be it a tongue in cheek message or not. It just wasn't funny which is a shame because Palmer's song writing is usually quite witty; on 'Mandy Goes To Med School' from 'Yes Virginia', she based her song around the notion of an illegal, backstreet abortions clinic and it worked because it was captivating, gloriously unshameful and most importantly a unique topic. On this occasion, however, the wit just isn't there and a throw away line from a far superior song is so pointless and unfulfilled that it deserves to be taken as a mark of arrogance, whether intentional or not.

'THIS IS AS GOOD AS IT WILL GET' (Lyric taken from 'The Gardener')
After such a disappointing track, the album was in desperate need of something with a little heart and substance to it. In steps 'The Gardener' which I swear seems to be one of the most depressing tracks on the earth; the song grows from sullen, hushed vocals and an imposing bass line, that treads carefully behind the whispers, before bursting into a tuneful but contained vocal performance which is an unexpected but captivating instant. Although 'The Gardener' doesn't seem to have a fulfilled, defining moment, it's a track that is so beautifully understated and chilling that you begin to realise that Palmer is actually good at what she does but occasionally she takes the wrong path and goes in a direction that makes little sense.

The only thing wrong with 'The Gardener' is that it is so haunting that you get it stuck in your mind and relive the tale over and over again. My interpretation almost doesn't allow me to enjoy the song because of something the lyrics reminded me of in the first verse but if you can get past the lingering and uneasy feel to the song, this is by far one of Amanda's greatest song writing moments ever with the Dresden Dolls and should be celebrated as such, regardless of how solemn it seems to be. It's one of the rare occasions where she decides not to out sing herself and lets the words take centre stage but at the same time with the music as an equally as unsettling accompaniment.

'Lonesome Organist Rapes Page-Turner' is the perfect antidote to the rather melancholic moments of its predecessor. Again, it seems to be of a similar design to another one of the bands tracks, 'Modern Romance' from 'Yes Virginia' due to the almost tinny drums and rather blunt piano tune. The lyrics are barked in a way that is much more fitting and this song is such a stark contrast to 'The Gardener' in terms of it being a surprisingly lighter track that you can't help but toe tap along to it. In all honesty, it's not that fantastic a track because the lyrics are so jumbled and Amanda tries to impersonate the Muppets with her vocals. Although it's about sexual abuse, the band have produced 'Lonesome Organist Rapes Page-Turner' in such a way, with the supporting music having a good, healthy beat to it, that you almost forget about the notion of such a dark topic and for that alone, 'Lonesome Organist Rapes Page-Turner' is one of 'No, Virginia's...' effortlessly finer moments.

'WE'RE A SORRY BUNCH...' (Lyric taken from 'Sorry Bunch')
'Sorry Bunch' is a track that I have very mixed sentiments about; on the surface it seems to be an enjoyable enough track but the background howling is rather irritating and detracts away from the pleas that the majority of the lyrics have to offer of someone imploring someone - or something - not to leave them. It could be a track about an addict's battle against their compulsions or in fact it could be an address to a lover. 'Sorry Bunch' is quite ambiguous for the most part and ends rather abruptly and doesn't really conclude in anyway. It does, again, sound a bit like the prototype to one of the bands other songs, 'Sing', in terms of the musical arrangement but with the instruments played to the maximum volume but overall it?s not a track you are likely to remember for the right reasons; only for the incessant background articulations - or lack of - from Palmer and Brian.

As we are well into the final half of 'No, Virginia...', it's fair to say that nothing innovative has really happened up till now and 'Pretty In Pink' doesn't really seek to steal the title of the albums most pioneering track. For some reason there is an accordion accompanying the piano and drums with an electro, synth type sound just before the bridge. Again, it's a case of this song being listenable but nothing you'd listen to and consider it to be a stand out moment on the album. Not by a long shot.

Plus the colour pink sucks...I can't condone a song with that in the title...can I?!

'IT'S JUST YOU AND YOUR IMAGINARY FRIENDS' (Lyric from ?The Kill?)
By this point, I would like to state that I have usually given up with 'No, Virginia...' and moved on to another album. 'The Kill' does nothing to really inspire you to carry on listening to the bitter end of the album. It's messy and a little too bizarre even for my liking. It seems too unhinged and although you can tell that the band have tried to create a song with many different parts to it, for some reason there is something lurking beneath the surface that doesn't allow me to like this one over much. Amanda's vocals are over exaggerated and do tie in with the general expression of the song but it has to be said that her tendency to pronounce some words as if she's discovering them for the first time, is a little unnecessary and detracts away from the lyrics as a whole although the chorus is one of the most memorable of 'No, Virginia...' and for the right reasons!

Upon the opener to 'The Sheep Song', I feared it was going to be a shoddy rip off of 'The Gardener'. The tempo came across as worryingly similar and was written in the minor chord. Thankfully, it was just an illusion and 'The Sheep Song' emerges without so much as a bleat out of place by Palmer. This is one of the few occasions on 'No, Virginia...' where her vocals are perfect and fit in well with the track; 'The Sheep Song' is an interrupted, distorted lullaby of a song and is seriously creepy. You do honestly believe Amanda when she comments that she is crying all of the time because of her voice being so frail and fragile and the tenth track emerges as one of the albums best.

In fact, it makes you wonder why on earth there wasn't space for something as gently written as this on 'Yes Virginia' but by the same token, 'The Sheep Song' could have gotten alarmingly lost in the mix on there because of the fact it's an album composed of strong, individualistic tracks. It would have been a great shame for 'The Sheep Song' to get lost in the herd as it is an interesting listening experience and unlike 'The Kill', the band have managed to compose a really good song with different paces in different sections of the track.

As we reach the final track on the album, before I'd even listened to the album, I was expecting 'Boston' to be a fairly low key song as the previous two albums ended with fairly methodical numbers, 'Truce' and 'Sing respectively. As Amanda's voice is small and unhasty, she lures the listener into the song with the piano before, characteristically, Brian lends a hand with an equally as slow drum beat. 'Boston's biggest failure as a track is the fact that it seems to last for far too long without any rhyme or reason; at the three and a half minute mark, I was expecting it to end but it carries on aimlessly for another three and a half minutes and just really lets the album end in a majorly dreary way. You stop listening to Palmer about half way through the song anyway so 'Boston', overall, perhaps isn't one to bother with and seems as if it was included on 'No, Virginia...' to take it up to the 11 track mark and to act as an oppressive ode to the bands city of origin.

IMAGE IS EVERYTHING...
One of the things that is a must whilst dealing with The Dresden Dolls is to remember that they are a little bit strange. The duo stand out in the crowd not only for their music but because of their dress code; if you open the disk sleeve, you will see two figures donned in black and white, rather odd costumes that seem to link back to the Victoria age with thrills and charming suits, albeit a suit without the dinner jacket. The group always have pretty unique, overtly sexual art work that will undeniably rub many up the wrong way but there is something else I have wrong with the artwork from 'No, Virginia...'

Amanda Palmer, as I've mentioned before this part of the review, does come across on odd occasions to be a bit ostentatious; whether this is just a persona or not, I'?m not too sure. I do want to slap her on the inside of the cover - she seems to be glorifying herself by glancing to the heavens and holding her hands in a mock shock motif - where an album such as 'No, Virginia...' just doesn't require it. At best, really, the album is average. And after being a big fan of the group's previous work, I have to say I was very disappointed with this offering.

Anyway, back to the artwork, and the front cover is worth a mention because it features a seemingly drunk Santa Claus collapsed in front of the groups drum kit. I have to say that the notion of a drunken Father Christmas acts as a fabulous metaphor for many of the songs where innocence is not what it seems and often has a sordid slant to it. 'Night Reconnaissance' is perhaps the best example of this because of the bullied character being so anguished that her life turns into a series of odd occurrences. VERY odd occurrences...

But getting Steven Spielberg to direct one of your films can't be all that bad, can it?

WHAT ELSE IS THERE LEFT TO SAY ABOUT 'NO, VIRGINIA...'?
It would be unfair to expect this 'No, Virginia...' to be the greatest of the three that The Dresden Dolls have released at this time because it is principally a collection of songs that just didn't quite make the cut on 'Yes Virginia'. But at the same time, it is impossible for me to ignore the fact that I love the band for their originality and sometimes complete genius when it comes to creating music that is so wildly different and obscure in terms of subject matter and these are responses I just didn't feel when listening to this album, regardless of what kind of material you could categorize these songs as.

I was hoping a lot of the said innovation would rub off on the tracks for 'No, Virginia...' but it just wasn't the case. Instead of seven to nine really incredible tracks and a couple of duds, which is the norm for the Dolls, it seems to be an album that is the polar opposite to such a thing, dominated by rip off numbers and poor vocals. Again, I accept that there will be similar sounding songs because of the fact that Amanda and Brian only use two key instruments for the most part, and Palmer's somewhat awkward singing could be classed as a result of nodules that she developed on her vocal chords at some point during her music career.

But then again, if the nodules were that much of an issue, why did they have to record these tracks when they did? It was clear that her voice was strained and stressed to quite an alarming rate on tracks such as 'Lonesome Organist Rapes Page-Turner' and 'The Kill'. She even manages to sound worse than I do when I have laryngitis which is really, really saying something...

For the most part, the music of 'No, Virginia...' is tainted by the fact that a lot of the lyrics are just futile and over the top which of course isn't aided by jaded singing. I can't even say it's an album for the die hard Dresden Dolls fan; ok I'm perhaps not a die hard fan of many bands but I would consider myself to be dedicatedly in love with many of this bands songs and very few fail to keep me fascinated after several listens.

But 'No, Virginia...' altogether is an awkward listening experience; it's an album that I glance over every time I want to unwind but can never bring myself to listen to it for fear it will permanently scar my perception of the band. Maybe there was too much to live up to and I had too high expectations for the third offering after two of my personal classic albums in the form of 'The Dresden Dolls' and 'Yes Virginia'. But I was really, really hoping for something wilder, zanier and with a little more zest to it than what was delivered on this occasion.

However, I do want to end this review on a positive; although there is a lot of copied - dare I say - rubbish in there, tracks like 'The Gardener' and 'The Sheep Song' are stunning and shouldn't be ignored. Whether I'd recommend you go out and buy the album especially for these two tracks is debatable and there are some others in there that are worth your time. I'll say yes because I'm feeling generous and I am willing to forgive Amanda and Brian on this occasion for such an album although I fear it would have been better if they'd just thrown 'The Gardener, 'The Sheep Song' and perhaps 'Night Reconnaissance' onto 'Yes Virginia' to avoid this shower of uh mildly repugnant excrement.

'No, Virginia...' is worth a listen if you are a fan of the Dolls but otherwise stay clear and buy either 'The Dresden Dolls' or 'Yes Virginia' for a more enjoyable, quirky and intriguing listening experience. And download some of the recommended tracks from this album whilst gleefully forgetting about the mere existence of many songs from here.

Uh, yeah because that was such a positive ending to this review, wasn't it?

QUICK STATS:
Length: 48.46 minutes
Year: 2008
Label: Roadrunner Records
Buy at: Amazon.co.uk - £9.28 (free super saver delivery too!)
Website: www.thedresdendolls.com 

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