The Dresden Dolls

Like many of my foolish preconceived notions, I spent about six months believing that The Dresden Dolls were a male-fronted group of indie-punks. Yes, I don’t know where I get these ideas either, but when I finally heard their self-titled album towards the end of last year, it shocked me and I loved it.

If you don’t know, the band is a duo at heart – pianist Amanda Palmer and drummer Brian Viglione. As you can see from the photo, they don’t have the most typical stage look. Well, that’s cool and all. They look great and make fun videos, but what matters to me is the music and it’s fantastic. Cabaret punk is what they call it, filled with drama and heavy dynamics. It’s great to hear a female-fronted band sounding so powerful without ever going near clichés.

So I highly recommend checking out their website because there are loads on there - weird photos, karaoke, videos, MP3s and interesting stories. It’s not the easiest place to navigate but worth the effort to find the surprises. And if you haven’t fallen in love with them yet, it’s time to get started because they’ll be in Amsterdam on February 21.

Further audio available here.

Steven McCarron - 08-02-2005

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