Customer Reviews
Disappointing. - By: M. Goldby, 25 Mar 2007 
Having been an avid fan of the dolls since their self-entitled album was released, I find 'Yes, Virginia' a pale reflection of what the Dresden Dolls are able to do.
Generally the album is O.K - the songs 'Mandy Goes to Med School', 'Backstabber' & 'My Alcoholic Friends' being amongst some of my favourites - & don't get me wrong, the Dolls still pull off some wonderfully poetic lyrics. However, this album doesn't seem to have the same musical quirkiness that set the dolls apart from 'alternative' mainstream musicians.
Though the dolls do not profess to being musical geniuses, Amanda's piano performance is often annoying where it used to be kookie. Her vocal performance has also lost a certain private, talkative quality & seems to have become a mumble with often incoherent shouting to punctuate the drone. Perhaps it is just the style of these particular songs - far more melancholy than the distinctively angry voice heard on the first album - that makes me give this album 3 stars instead of 5.
MG
They're inviting you anyway - By: the messenger, 10 Mar 2007 
After a debut of such rare quality, there was always going to be a nagging element of trepidation mixedin with the anticipation for its successor. The Dresden Dolls' singer/songwriter Amanda Palmer had poured every creative drop of her life thitherto into making the perfect record: every click & whir & scrape of the chalk, every scrap of artworkin every nook of the lovingly-crafted sleeve was served with a generous helping of blood, sweat, tears & many other bodily fluids besides. And Amanda herself admitted that it was hard to feel the same love for a record that was madein a fancy studio, on a shiny new piano, & which was her job, rather than the thing she did to get away from her job & keep herself sane. For us also, there is a worry over how a record like that can be followed up -- with something brilliant & dynamic, without question, but something will surely be missing: that feeling of discovery; the stumbling upon a beautiful secret before it gets out; the cherishing of the sure proof that some people out there are still making passionate & original music. So basically Yes Virginia will be coming out to societyin the shadow of a brilliant big sister: no matter how many winsome tricks she has up her sleeve, she will always be starved for the affection afforded the firstborn. She may be brilliant, but we expect that from her family anyway.
The album opens with an ace: Sex Changes has been a live favourite for some time, & on record its many quirky turns of phrase - lyrical & musical - bend over backwards to please, & succeed handsomely, adding up to four minutes of dazzling charm that goes a long way to reassure the listener that they can really pull this second album thing off after all. And across its fifty-something minutes, there is much to impress. Taken as a whole, the Dolls have toned down their avant-garde leanings somewhat; there are fewer moments of über-cabaret (though Mandy Goes to Med School has a pleasing bounce to go with its abortionist's toy fetish, & would feel quite at home on either record), but let's do away with the unfair comparisons for a while. Yes, Virginia is a collection of big, brazen songs, full of big ideas & big ambition, & between these are some smaller, unshowy songs, which sound like filler to begin with, but then reveal their character on repeat listening. My Alcoholic Friends is an unusually straightforward song for the Dolls, but one which is determined to infect you with the irrepressible jauntiness of its short-phrase delivery: "I'm/Trying hard/Not to be ashamed/Not to know the name/Of who/Is waking up beside me/Or/The date/The season or the city/But/At least/The ceiling's very pretty".
The centrepiece of the album is Delilah, an expansive, Thelma-and-Louise tale of a friend's addiction to an abusive man, with Amanda playing the regular crying shoulder whose counsel is invariably overruled by Delilah's love-ridden willingness to forgive. It is exquisitely wrought with misery, & its epic frame gives the listener time to be drawnin & experience the helpless feeling, & it is quite devastating to hear Amanda's patience wear & eventually snap: "if you take him back/I'm gonna lose my nerve/He's gonna beat you like a pillow/You schizos never learn/And if you take him home/You get what you deserve". It is a heartfelt performance, but one which is likely to divide fans' opinion more than any other song on the record (and as long, miserable Dolls songs go, it's still no match for Glass Slipper, which really ought to have a found a place on the record somewhere).
There are some things which begin to grate on the listener; some musical passages sound clumsy & hard to listen to, & Amanda has developed a nasty habit of punctuating her fine lyrical bons mots with an array of "oh oh ooh ooh" sounds. These are short & fit quite wellin the first two songs, & even works as a long wailin Delilah (though it is overused across its seven minute duration), butin songs like Modern Moonlight it just sounds like stalling for time, & even changing tack & going for a series of "yeah" noisesin Necessary Evil doesn't disguise the problem. But all these are nit-picksin a record which is brimful of wit & wonder & acute observation, & is easily a strong contender for best album of last year. If we can come to terms with the fact that The Dresden Dolls are now big news, & that honeymoon period of sharing the awesome new underground band with all your friends is over, then there is still plenty here to be found worth keeping the faith for; moments where it seems as though Amanda is singing to you & you alone; images that make you thankful for someone with access to a piano (and a quite superhuman drummer) who understands what it is to live this life, & realises that, rather than whine & complain, how much better it would be to throw a party & celebrate the big sick joke of it all.
One of the funniest things i have ever heard... - By: *RaindropsOnRoses*, 04 Dec 2006 This album is a must have for anyone who has a wierd tastein music or just like songs that make them giggle. Having said that, The Dresden Dolls are not a band to push aside for not taking music seriously.
This individual duo mix cabaret with punk rock, creating a genre, self dubbed punk cabaret. Each song is filled with Amanda Palmer's melodic piano & Brian Vigilione's powerful yet elegantly executed drums. Palmer's voice turns suddenly from almost a whisper to full on wails whilst Vigilione caklesin the background.
Yes they sound bizzare, but thats just the beauty of them! It opens with "Sex Changes", a funny song of gender issues & continues into "Backstabber", (watch the video they made with Panic! At The Disco for this one - genius) here Palmer sings with pure grit. Softer songs like "Deliah" & "Sing" are beautifully written, where Amanda sits at the piano alone for the most part. They show her voice to be versitile & can carry off most things.
Every song gets into your head & leave you wanting more. "Mrs O" is about living during WW2, & "Mandy Goes To Med School" is compiled with comical lyrics about being a backstreet abortionist. Lots of other topics are coveredin this piece of genius, each song equally valued as a masterpiece & each different from the last.
This isn't a band to take lightly, they like to put on a show & the album shows that. This album is one of the best & varied things i have heard this year & there is surely nobody that i can think of that are like them.
The Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia - By: RachelWalker, 11 Nov 2006 A wonderful album. At first I thought it wasn't as good as their debut; later I found out I was wrong. The more listens, the more amazing this gets. It's perhaps not as subtle as the first album, & maybe slightly less cabaret-ish, but they can't put out the same album over & over. This one has a larger clutch of brilliant tunes that veer from the gently melodic Sing to the rocking Sex Changes, from the brilliant punk of Necessary Evil to the piano-based joy that is My Alcoholic Friends. Palmer's voice goes through fewer hoops this time round which, for her, is probably a good thing, but also suits the songs here very well. Th lyrics are wonderful, & Palmer's self-righteous venom is invigorating. I can't reccomend this enough really. It's the album I've listened to most this year, & I have no doubt that when the year ends this will be my favourite from 2006. No competition. Buy it. Maybe it'll be yours too.
Gets better with each listen - By: S. Millar, 10 Oct 2006 On first listen I thought 'Yes, Virginia' was less eclectic than the debut, which I thought was great. But now I prefer the latest offering, because although it keeps the same warped sense of humour, the tracks are generally more upbeat & playable. Amanda Palmer has a voice like a laser beam & Brian Viglione's drumming is so precise. Fave tracks are Backstabber & the anthemic Delilah & Sing. Great for scarf-wavingin the rock arena...? Hope to see them live sometime soon.
