At face value, the Dresden Dolls - a bare-bones, guy 'n' gal, piano and drum Boston duo, channeling both Weimar era-Germany and Tin Pan Alley - seem image-conscious and manufactured. That is, until you listen to their music.
"As far as its integral tie to the actual show, it's [the look] really only meant as sort of a visual enhancement," said drummer Brian Viglione. The image of the Dresden Dolls, face paint and cabaret garb, is just another facet of the performance.
By the end of the show, the makeup is generally sweated off and the costumes are disheveled and half hanging off their bodies. What's left are the songs. And that's representative of the Dresden Dolls performance aspect. "Since the music has so much imagery and characters, particular moments of theatricality jump out. To have a costume makes it much more exciting for us and the audience," he said.
But what troubles Viglione are the people who discounted the Dolls as a gimmicky goth band. In the early stages, he and singer Amanda Palmer struggled in their quest for publicity and management. "A lot of companies were saying 'we don't work goth bands.'" But clearly these people haven't heard the Dresden Dolls. Sonically, they're part rock opera, part showtunes and part piano-driven, Little Richard rock 'n' roll. The result is a genre the dolls can call all their own: Brechtian Cabaret Punk.
There's a huge stigma in the label "goth." It's a pigeonhole genre, the industry says.
"Before they heard our music, they kind of looked at the packaging and said, 'OK, they use whiteface and dark lipstick. They must be goth.' And that couldn't be further from the truth," Viglione said.
And now, the aforementioned companies are pounding on the band's office doors, eager to work with the Dresden Dolls.
Symbolically, the office was previously occupied by Boston former flagship act the Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
A testament to the staying power of the Dresden Dolls is their ability to transcend a specific fanbase.
"Many different types of people seem to love it ... the band attracts young people, old people, middle-aged professionals, single moms - all that kind of thing. And that's the main point ... this is a very inclusive environment," he said.
The Dresden Dolls also deviate from the compartmentalized Boston scene.
"It's extremely liberating. Especially since we have no particular box to fit in."
The Dresden Dolls are as out of place as the Pixies were in 1986. And everyone knows how that story turned out.
The Dresden Dolls will be playing the Black Cat on Wednesday. Tickets cost $10.
