The self titled Brechtian Punk Cabaret artists The Dresden Dolls released, in my opinion, the most interesting album of 2003. With masterful use and timing of just piano, drums and vocals Amanda Palmer & Brian Vigilione (the two members of the band) have crafted an album of bittersweet love songs and humourous tales of modern life. Amanda is like a modern day Jerry Lee Lewis creating magical and catchy songs with just her piano and astonishing voice, and then crashing in on top of that to add depth, focus and humour comes Brian's wonderfully timed drumming. The music itself can take you back to 1930s' Weimar Berlin in it's sound and attitude, but with the very cutting lyrics this is no homage to the past but a wonderful commentry on the world as it is today.

The album opens with the wondrous and touching Good Day which is a heartless look at a failed relationship. After having been hurt by their partner ("you'd rather be a bitch than be an ordinary broken heart") the narrator has finally come to terms with their life and is now very content ("i picked up the pieces of my broken ego, i have finally made my peace as far as you and me go..."), whereas the evil ex is now suffering and she no longer cares, "so go ahead and talk about your bad day...". All this is delivered with just the right amount of pathos that it is never sad and is indeed very positive and almost joyous. The other tales of love in the album Missed Me (a tale about going to jail for being unfaithful with the narrators' sister "hope you're happy in the county penitentiary, it serves you right for kissing little girls"), Coin-Operated Boy (how having a puppet as a lover is much better than having a real man because you can do whatever you want "I can even fuck him in the ass" and get more respect and care "i can't imagine any flesh and blood could be his match, i can even take him in the bath") and Truce (again another failed relationship and how the two parties will now have to split the world in half "we can split germany right down the middle
you'd hate it there anyway") are all similarly delivered with a mixture of black humour and biting sarcasm. There are no treacle sweet formulaic love songs here, but brave, original and artistically delivered looks into the darker side of love and relationships.

One of the many highlights on the album is the 2nd track and single Girl Ananchronism. It's the most fast paced song, perfectly suited to the twisted tale of a psychophrenic girl, "behold i am the worlds worst accident". Talk of scars, bruises, drugs, hospitalisation, body casts and such are hardly going to make this song 'radio friendly', but the intensity and power within Amandas' vocals, matched with Brians' fierce drumming make this a song you can't ignore or fail to love.

Amandas black and twisted look on the world continues on songs like Half Jack, a story for her father and how she wishes she could throw off the half of her that comes from him "i run as fast as I can but Jack comes stumbling after...". Here Jack represents her father and of course her mother is Jill. This reference to Jack & Jill and thus to a well known fable is a technique Amanda uses often to her benefit. In the amusing The Jeep Song in which she pours out her annoyance at everyone in Boston having a '96 jeep cherokee and reminding her of stupid ex boyfriend "but with every jeep i see, my broken hear