Yes, Virginia...
by Dresden Dolls
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 26 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 26
  3. Negative: 1 out of 26

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  1. williamo
    Apr 21, 2006
    8
    i don't know why critics are so bad, i think they just don't understand dresden dolls world! This is not the first genius album but this group create something out of the tracks and that's why we love them a lot!
  2. KaitieP
    May 2, 2006
    10
    I fell in love with the Dresden Dolls' style the first time I heard "Coin Opperated Boy" and I thought the first CD was great. The second CD is just as good if not better than their debut album. With songs like Backstabber and Sing, I think we should all be expecting a lot from The Dresden Dolls.
  3. JackC
    Apr 20, 2006
    10
    Taken on its own terms this record is every bit as exciting as the first. It takes a little getting used to, but once you let go of whatever baggage you bring to it, if you're a fan you will love this record. If you're not a fan thisprobably won't turn you into one. Then again it just might.
  4. PaulE
    Apr 25, 2006
    10
    I just recently discovered the Dresden's so I don't have the POV of a longtime fan. This album, for me, is a masterpiece. Every moment grabs and shakes me. I'm under Amanda's spell. The lyrics are witty, funny as hell, and gut-wrenching at times. Deliah stands out as a mini 3-Act play. This is a desert-island disk for me that will last a lifetime.
  5. BenM
    May 10, 2006
    7
    I hated "coin operated boy" but was intrigued by the theatre and musicality of Dresden Dolls. Unlike most of the reviews on this site, "Mandy Goes To Med School" is one of my favorites. Great jazz piano chords and intriguing lyrics.
  6. Andrew
    Apr 18, 2006
    9
    imho, even better than the first one. On 'Yes, Virginia' the melodies and rhythms are more mature, most of the songs are even darker and at least as powerful as 'Girl Anachronism' or 'Half jack'. Clearly a "grower" and, as it seems, divides the listeners in very contrary positions. Well i vote for, not against.
  7. dsseibu
    Apr 19, 2006
    10
    If one can get away from the tedious requirement of journos to respond to this band's aesthetic for a moment, Yes Virginia contains simply astonishing songwriting. Things you just don't hear much anymore: Foreshadowing of melodies, genuinely inventive transformations of songs and subtlety brilliant wordplay. Add to this other unfashionable eccentricities, such as a sense of If one can get away from the tedious requirement of journos to respond to this band's aesthetic for a moment, Yes Virginia contains simply astonishing songwriting. Things you just don't hear much anymore: Foreshadowing of melodies, genuinely inventive transformations of songs and subtlety brilliant wordplay. Add to this other unfashionable eccentricities, such as a sense of humour and subject matter which leaves even the most liberal commentators slightly nervous (...Med School, anyone?), and you've got something of a masterpiece.… Expand
  8. constintinatrainwreck
    Apr 19, 2006
    9
    I can always use more songs about jerking off. I am also delighted at the prospect of following Palmer and Viglione's glorious musical conversation wherever it may lead. The joy you hear as they beat out the songs together can move me to tears. This record is more than a bit of a treasure.
  9. Thursby
    Apr 22, 2006
    7
    The Dresden Doll's second album is neither as fantastic nor as dire as has been suggested. Most of the songs straddle (cough) a position somewhere between gimmick and substance: there'll always be a fundamental melody and subject, but it's often laced with sound effect novelties and Amanda Palmer experimenting with her voice. Now, whereas in the first album this served to The Dresden Doll's second album is neither as fantastic nor as dire as has been suggested. Most of the songs straddle (cough) a position somewhere between gimmick and substance: there'll always be a fundamental melody and subject, but it's often laced with sound effect novelties and Amanda Palmer experimenting with her voice. Now, whereas in the first album this served to punctuate the fierce emotional intensity of tracks such as 'Coin Operated Boy' and 'Gravity', adding to them a much needed streak of black humour, here it merely undermines the music and comes across as immaturity. There's nothing here in the same realms of beautiful despair as their first album. However, songs like 'Sex Changes' and 'Shores of California' (my favourites so far) are nonetheless catchy tracks with substantial and unusually frank lyrical subject matter: they stand independently from the first album and, in honesty, probably represent the only direction The Dresden Dolls could have taken after the intensity of the last record. It'll be interesting to see what they can come up with next time around.… Collapse
  10. EdS
    Apr 28, 2006
    8
    Good Album. Where they truly shine is live if they come your way it is a must see.
  11. MattD.
    May 2, 2006
    7
    Going by my interest level in the CD, it would be a 6 - but I'm going to give it a 7 so my personal taste doesn't influence my rating. Solid CD if you want something a little different in your collection. They are best when they are upbeat.
  12. tom
    Apr 27, 2006
    10
    Great band, sometimes i just cant understand the critics....Maybe not better from the first album, but how many bands have a second record better than their debut anyway...
  13. DaveF
    May 14, 2006
    9
    This is like the White Stripes with more piano and a good drummer.
  14. BrianH
    Apr 17, 2007
    10
    Maybe one of the greatest albums I've ever listened to, absolutely stunning music, Dirty Business may be my favorite song of all time.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. Blender
    70
    An 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]
  2. Slant Magazine
    70
    Yes, Virginia is hit-or-miss.
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  3. The Guardian
    60
    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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See all critic reviews »