The Dresden Dolls were an American musical duo from Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Formed in 2001, the group consisted of
Amanda Palmer (51) (vocals, piano, ukulele, toy piano, harmonica) and
Brian Viglione (drums, percussion, guitar, vocals). They describe their heavily art-damaged and theatrical style as "Brechtian punk cabaret", a phrase invented by Palmer because she was "terrified" that the press would invent a name that "would involve the word 'gothic'," and are part of an underground audioscrobbler.com/tag/dark%20cabaret" class="bbcode_tag" rel="tag">dark cabaret movement that started gaining momentum in the early 1990s. Palmer accompanies her confessional story-songs with a thunderous and shimmering piano style that rests on the shoulders of
Jerry Lee Lewis (47) and
Nina Simone (165). Viglione's jazz and hardcore-influenced drumming and creative percussion are the perfect foil, providing in turns a delicate cradle of rhythm and a piercing bed of nails onto which Palmer lays her raw, tragicomic lyrics.
The release of their debut album
The Dresden Dolls, produced by Martin Bisi (
Swans,
Sonic Youth), has won the band accolades from both mainstream and underground media, and it appears that the Dolls are poised to transcend cult status and smash all commonly held ideas about what a rock band is supposed to be. Their awe-striking live energy and singular look has earned them opening slots for
Nine Inch Nails,
Beck, the
B-52s,
Jane's Addiction,
OK Go and
Panic! At the Disco, a tour with the
legendary pink dots, and a victory in the 2003 WBCN Rock and Roll Rumble.
Their second album
Yes, Virginia was released in 2006, eventually followed by a companion record
No, Virginia in 2008, which features b-sides and out-takes from the "Yes, Virginia" sessions, as well as a smattering of new tracks.
At the end of summer 2008 they announced an indefinite break from performing and recording together.
