Doll Skin
Manic Pixie Dream Girl
EMP Label Group
2017
All girl bands… obviously, either an enterprise creation or the case of a bunch of friends from high school, who find music as a form of escapism… hardly legal to drink in most states, Dollskin are a multi colored hair bunch that’s shouty as hell and in urgent need of a stylist and a “grown” up sophomore as soon as they’re through touring this one. They were discovered by D.Ellefson, of Megadeth fame, when he noticed them at a local music competition where he was a judge and they “won” hands down.
The spunky rock they project, could be comparable to The Donnas, The Go-Go’s and The Runaways and maybe even Avril Lavinge, if she was either punk or rock – which she’s not – she’s pop and getting too old to pretend to be a “teenage-on- a-rampage”… which these girls, wet behind the ears are licensed to do for many years to come and frankly speaking… while they’re not bad, there no “bona-fide” single on “Manic Pixie Dream Girl”…
Sydney Dolezal – their green haired singer, has the power, but is too shouty and while she could turn out to be a pretty good singer (there’s talent and a nice timbre) currently, she lacks the experience that only lots of touring could bestow. Alex Snowden – blue hair, lead guitar, pretty thing, is rather good whenever she comes to the fore, which is almost once a track, during short leads of varying degrees of effect. The duo of Nicole Rich (bass – red or blond) and Meghan Herring (drums – red) manage to be in a tight relationship, musically speaking, providing a more than decent rhythm base for their girlfriends to wreak havoc on.
But the gals collective Achilles heel, at least at this point might be the songwriting… which is decent, with songs like “Daughter”, “Boy Band” (after it’s bitching shouty intro) and “Rubi” showing aptitude and a basic understanding of how to build up tension and then release it, but for each of them there are others that are not so good, or others ie “Persephone” in which the band still seems to be experimenting with their sound… for better or worse, I think they need to work on the vocal production a lot, where I think their singer shouts more than she should, because she doesn’t feel 100% comfortable with – when she shouldn’t have an issue (I mean she does a pretty decent cover or Alanis Morissete’s “Uninvited”) and concentrate a little on what works in a composition, in quite a few of their songs, I though they’re not really playing too complex, but they seem like they’re trying a little too hard… ie in “Boy Band”, I’m pretty sure they could have brought the bass a bit to the fore and do a lower – more sneering (Billy Idol type of vocal) without effects on an already edgy vocal. And that’s just one case...
They’re promising alright and got a bunch of likable tunes, but lacking a “signature” one… who knows, I might turn into their number one stalker – ooops, I meant fan, next album!
The spunky rock they project, could be comparable to The Donnas, The Go-Go’s and The Runaways and maybe even Avril Lavinge, if she was either punk or rock – which she’s not – she’s pop and getting too old to pretend to be a “teenage-on- a-rampage”… which these girls, wet behind the ears are licensed to do for many years to come and frankly speaking… while they’re not bad, there no “bona-fide” single on “Manic Pixie Dream Girl”…
Sydney Dolezal – their green haired singer, has the power, but is too shouty and while she could turn out to be a pretty good singer (there’s talent and a nice timbre) currently, she lacks the experience that only lots of touring could bestow. Alex Snowden – blue hair, lead guitar, pretty thing, is rather good whenever she comes to the fore, which is almost once a track, during short leads of varying degrees of effect. The duo of Nicole Rich (bass – red or blond) and Meghan Herring (drums – red) manage to be in a tight relationship, musically speaking, providing a more than decent rhythm base for their girlfriends to wreak havoc on.
But the gals collective Achilles heel, at least at this point might be the songwriting… which is decent, with songs like “Daughter”, “Boy Band” (after it’s bitching shouty intro) and “Rubi” showing aptitude and a basic understanding of how to build up tension and then release it, but for each of them there are others that are not so good, or others ie “Persephone” in which the band still seems to be experimenting with their sound… for better or worse, I think they need to work on the vocal production a lot, where I think their singer shouts more than she should, because she doesn’t feel 100% comfortable with – when she shouldn’t have an issue (I mean she does a pretty decent cover or Alanis Morissete’s “Uninvited”) and concentrate a little on what works in a composition, in quite a few of their songs, I though they’re not really playing too complex, but they seem like they’re trying a little too hard… ie in “Boy Band”, I’m pretty sure they could have brought the bass a bit to the fore and do a lower – more sneering (Billy Idol type of vocal) without effects on an already edgy vocal. And that’s just one case...
They’re promising alright and got a bunch of likable tunes, but lacking a “signature” one… who knows, I might turn into their number one stalker – ooops, I meant fan, next album!