The Dresden Dolls

The Dresden Dolls' self-titled debut album was one of those records that was fascinating at first shine but didn't necessarily inspire you to listen to it again. With their weird mix of post-punk noise, Tori Amos-like piano-goddess incantations, and Kurt Weill-inspired, German cabaret jauntiness, the Dolls were long on quirk but short on substance, a concept band in search of an identity. Well, with Yes, Virginia, they've finally found that identity, and created something very close to a masterpiece.

As produced by Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie (the Pixies, Hole, Radiohead), Yes, Virginia attacks you from the start with a raw-nerve, live-in-the-studio energy that the Dolls' first album only hinted at. Singer-pianist Amanda Palmer and drummer Brian Viglione play their instruments as if their lives depended on it, generating more exciting dynamics than most bands can create with half-a-dozen musicians and a host of overdubs. Stripped down to their barest elements -- piano, drums, two voices and very little else -- Palmer and Viglione stand revealed as two musicians of astonishing talent and energy, and they've clearly grown confident enough to do away with most of the fuzzy studio effects and tinkling music boxes of their first album.

As if inspired by this cleaner approach to their arrangements, Palmer's songwriting has become much more accessible and pop-oriented -- even as her lyrics have, if anything, gotten darker and more daring. The very first song, "Sex Changes," is a disturbing little ditty about abortion; other songs tackle everything from alcoholism to masturbation to the evils of mass consumerism. Perhaps the best example of Palmer's new approach to songwriting, at once kinder and nastier, is the song "Backstabber," a scathingly witty attack on a fellow musician who "only sleep[s] with girls who say they like your music." Many a noisy emo band would envy Palmer's ability to turn lyrics like "shit lover! off-brusher! jaded bitter joy crusher!" into such a rousing, singalong chorus.

The Dolls haven't completely abandoned the Berlin-meets-Broadway side to their sound -- "Mandy Goes to Med School" is a jaunty little cabaret number that casts Palmer (a.k.a. "Mandy") and her drummer as a pair of back-alley abortion doctors ("put away those pliers honey, trust me cause I know the options"), while "Your Alcoholic Friends" is a mix of sunshiny piano pop and droll cynicism worthy of Stephen Sondheim -- or maybe Ben Folds. But for the most part, Palmer and Viglione have committed to playing the role of guitarless rock 'n' roll band, and it's a role that suits them perfectly.

So yes, Virginia -- the Dresden Dolls did have a great album in them, and Yes, Virginia is it. For sheer raw energy, great songwriting and bristling, ferocious intelligence, it's hard to imagine any other album this year topping it. - Andy Hermann

The Dresden Dolls could never be accused of being shy and retiring, but on their second full-length, Yes, Virginia..., they sound more confident than ever, igniting their cabaret-rock with more crazed inventiveness and you-are-there immediacy. While there's nothing as instantly captivating as their first album's winsome "Coin-Operated Boy" or the defiant "Girl Anachronism," Yes, Virginia... is a more powerful and consistent set of songs overall, moving from musically and emotionally complex ballads like "Delilah" and the album closer, "Sing," to shouty, forceful numbers such as "Necessary Evil" and "Sex Changes." Sean Slade and Paul Kolderie's production adds to the bigger, more rock-inspired sound of the album, which invigorates Amanda Palmer's character sketches. While the highly theatrical, stylized sound of the Dresden Dolls might seem to be the substance of their music -- and, admittedly, it does draw the listener in right away -- it's the strong songwriting that makes the band truly impressive. Palmer's lyrics have a mix of sympathy and disdain for the people and subjects in her songs that makes them seem very honest in spite, or perhaps because of, their theatricality. On "Backstabber," she dismisses a "greedy little fit-haver" with a "God, I feel for you, fool" that's a perfect blend of fury and pity. She goes after and celebrates uncomfortable moments, whether it's cataloging the drunken haze of "My Alcoholic Friends" (which is one of the jauntiest, poppiest distillations of the Dolls' sound to date) or "First Orgasm," a bleak and almost creepily intimate ballad that's not at all jokey despite lines such as "I'm taking matters into my own hands" and "there won't be any second coming." Full of ambitious twists and turns, equally vulnerable and sarcastic, Yes, Virginia... alludes to the famous 1897 New York Sun editorial that reassured a little girl that Santa Claus exists for a reason: as arch and ironic as the Dresden Dolls might seem on the surface, inside their music, there's a surprising amount of hope and heart. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide