* En anglais uniquement
A variety of noteworthy groups were active on the Boston music scene in the late '90s and early 2000s -- groups ranging from retro-soul/funk band Superhoney to the quirky, '80s-minded synth pop/new wave trio Freezepop to the hard-to-categorize
Moonraker (who have since moved to New York City). But the most unique and intriguing group to come out of Boston during that period may very well have been
the Dresden Dolls, a highly unorthodox duo consisting of lead singer/pianist
Amanda Palmer (who handles the songwriting) and drummer
Brian Viglione. Formed in 2001,
the Dresden Dolls have favored a most unlikely blend of alternative pop/rock, riot grrrl catharsis, and German cabaret -- especially the German cabaret that flourished when the Weimar Republic was in power in Germany in the '20s and very early '30s (before Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime came to power).
The name
Dresden Dolls was, in part, inspired by a song from British punk band
the Fall, but it also acknowledges
Palmer and
Viglione's German influences; Dresden, after all, is a German city that was bombed extensively during World War II. However,
Palmer doesn't sing or write in German; all of her vocals and lyrics are in English. But even so,
the Dresden Dolls' Weimar-era influences are impossible to miss -- not only because of their music, but also, because of their physical appearance. When
Palmer and
Viglione (whose colorful live shows helped them acquire a small but enthusiastic cult following in and around Boston in the early 2000s) perform together as
the Dresden Dolls, their clothes and makeup provide a look that is half goth and half Weimar-style burlesque -- a look that successfully unites the cultures of different countries and different eras.
Like their attire,
the Dresden Dolls' clever, darkly theatrical music draws on an unusual variety of influences.
Marlene Dietrich and
Kurt Weill have influenced
the Dresden Dolls, but so have alternative rockers ranging from
Tori Amos to
PJ Harvey to the controversial
Hole founder turned solo artist
Courtney Love. And just as the New York City-based, London-born singer/songwriter
Nellie McKay has no problem reminding listeners of
Doris Day one minute and
Alanis Morissette or
Randy Newman the next,
the Dresden Dolls know how to make their combination of influences from different periods sound perfectly natural and organic rather than forced, pretentious, or contrived.
In 2003,
the Dresden Dolls' A Is for Accident (a collection of live recordings) was released on the Important label; that CD was followed by their first full-length studio album, a self-titled disc that came out on 8ft. Records in 2004. The next year, the tour/video compilation Paradise was released, and
Yes, Virginia..., the band's second album, arrived in 2006. The similarly titled
No, Virginia... followed two years later, collecting the duo's B-sides and outtakes and pairing them with five new songs. ~ Alex Henderson