Well executed vaudeville style album (Yes Virginia - The Dresden Dolls)

Member Name: oildrum

Product:	Yes Virginia - The Dresden Dolls
Date:	04/06/09 (4 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: well written lyrics and melodies

Disadvantages: None, a perfect album!

This is the second full length Dolls' LP, where the music style seems to shift its focus from Wiemar-era Europe to Old time vaudeville USA.
Highlights are the saloon-like 'Mandy goes to Med School' and the short and sweet 'My Alcoholic Friends'.
The ballads on this album (namely 'Delilah' and 'Mrs O') are very emotional and well written and in my opinion surpass their equivalents on the Dolls self-titled predecessor.
Likewise, the modern and rock inspired tracks 'Shores of California' and 'Backstabber' are a great improvement and show how Amanda Palmer has developed in terms of writing fresh, contemporary melodies.
The only track that didn't catch me right away was 'modern moonlight' witch seemed a bit abrasive amongst the other more accessible tracks, but once you've heard it a few times and manage to work out what's going on, that too becomes another finely written song.
The instrumentation is again mainly piano and drums which complement each other perfectly as it becomes more apparent with each record how talented the artist are with their instrument.
Top tracks: 'My Alcoholic Friends' and 'Dirty Business'

Summary: Upbeat piano melodies and dark lyrics. A perfect record