I had just talked about the first Dresden Dolls album, and just as the songs I hadn't liked at first were slowly becoming my favourites, they came out with a whole new album.
Yes, Virginia shows Amanda Palmer's songwriting and Brians Viglione's drumming chops are still strong. This time around the themes are politics and loneliness. 'Me and the Mini-bar' by the title alone was destined for my 'Late Night Drinking Alone and Feeling Sorry For Myself' playlist alongside a lot of Tom Waits, but the last line "And I sing at the top of my lungs 'Happy Birthday to Us!'" puts it at the top (or is that bottom?) of the list. The lyrics are still really clever, but much more frank and explicit than before - the coy elision of 'Coin-Operated Boy' has been literalized explicitly.
There's still some more meandering - but that is only unfortunate because, as before, their focused tracks are so fantastic.