- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Alternative PressThe Dolls' music... is as gripping as ever. [Jun 2006, p.188]
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Yes, Virginia is the album The White Stripes would make if they were getting more passionate and creative with each successive release instead of lamer and more commercial.
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New Musical Express (NME)The bastard lovechild of Tori Amos and an Eastern European touring circus. [15 Apr 2006, p.35]
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While the first album was more adventurous, Virginia‘s newfound focus suits the Dresden Dolls to a tee.
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They sound more confident than ever, igniting their cabaret-rock with more crazed inventiveness and you-are-there immediacy.
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Yes, Virginia doesn't have the expressive range of the Dresden Dolls' debut.... But what is here is frequently engaging even if-- for a band that thrives on discomfort-- the record sometimes gets a bit too comfortable for its own good.
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Entertainment WeeklyWarning: Consume this in small doses. [21 Apr 2006, p.73]
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If it ultimately feels as if it's slightly less than its predecessor, that's because there's a sense of the band's acting out more in order to try and show how outrageous it can be.
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BlenderAn amped-up grotesque of torchy vaudeville and European parlor songs that starts as high-concept camp and winds up strangely illuminating. [May 2006, p.105]
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Yes, Virginia is hit-or-miss.
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Under The RadarWhen [Palmer] misses, she comes off as precious. When she hits, she's as moving as anything in music today. [#13, p.84]
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Q MagazineThe Dolls tighten their musical corset with beguiling style. [May 2006, p.123]
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Palmer's style is overwhelming: she sings her poetry with such gusto that it crosses from enthusiastic drama to verbose pantomime.
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When not overdone, the playing and singing are excellent, and when they want to, the Dresden Dolls can pen a mighty fine tune as well.
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UncutWhile the debut was full of witty, Sparksy songs, Yes, Virginia is awash with mawkishly earnest ballads that suggest Tori Amos after a spell at drama school. [May 2006, p.104]
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SpinThey burden their appealing, childlike take on Brechtian cabaret's cold raunch with so much lush production... that it's as though Palmer is being drowned by a gallon jug of overpriced perfume. [Jun 2006, p.79]
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Sometimes it's hard to take seriously a band that bases its identity on a shtick -- but it doesn't seem like the members of the Dresden Dolls are much interested in being taken seriously.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 24 out of 26
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Mixed: 1 out of 26
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Negative: 1 out of 26
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BrianHApr 17, 2007Maybe one of the greatest albums I've ever listened to, absolutely stunning music, Dirty Business may be my favorite song of all time.
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DaveFMay 14, 2006This is like the White Stripes with more piano and a good drummer.
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BenMMay 10, 2006