MCR ALBUM REVIEW: The Dollfaces EP

The Dollfaces: The Dollfaces
(self-released EP)
by Gary Blackwell

For the past few months, I’ve been reading a lot about The Dollfaces in the local press – ‘…managed by John Montgomery and Willy Wilson…throwback to the heyday of late 60’s Detroit City rock and roll…live covers of unexpected tracks such as “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “I Wanna Be Your Dog”...’ Between that and all of the hipster buzz surrounding the band’s live performances, I have to be honest - saying that I was interested in hearing The Dollfaces’ material would have been an understatement. Unfortunately, though, I think the word I’d use to describe the self-titled EP would be ‘underwhelming’ (with just cause and justification given at review’s end).

I mean, yeah, I’ll admit that it’s cool as fuck that a bunch of high school kids have started a band that doesn’t sound as bad as Wyld Stallions did before phone booths started flying back and forth throughout history. I’ve seen them play out live by this point, and between that and this disc, I’ll admit that the kids are obviously fairly talented musicians.

However, the concept of ‘talented musicians’ doesn’t always translate into ‘worthwhile listening,’ which is the main downfall of this disc. The two-minutes-and-change of opener “Fallin’ Cassanova” sets a decent enough fuzzy rock vibe, and based on the vocal tone, this one wouldn’t have sounded all that out of place on 89X in the mid 90’s. “Fifteen” is a surprising amalgamation, fusing jazzy verse structures with a chorus straight from the Von Bondies’ Lack of Communication days. “Just As You Are” doubles as the discs most interesting and most perplexing listen, coming off as a less worldly, impatient brethren of Radiohead’s OK Computer-era material.

From there, though, things take a drastic nose-dive. “It’s Not the End” seems like a cut-and-paste collage of four songs the band deemed unworthy of inclusion on this EP. Individually, the pieces sound decent enough, but two minutes into this five-minute track, the song already seems tedious. “Decisions Decisions” befalls the same fate, as halfway through the song, it’s obvious that this is the ‘filler’ song of the EP (though the guitar solo does have a bit of pizzazz to it).

The first three tracks are flawed, but endearing, in that they show great semblances of promise for the future of this young act. My two cents? Sure, I’m an asshole, but I’m not an idiot – I don’t expect these kids to be writing note-perfect material before any of them have even had to opportunity to go to their senior prom, and I don’t think anyone else should be, either. However, I have yet to read anything anywhere that gives The Dollfaces any sort of criticism at all, and that’s just sad. Yeah, the concept of The Dollfaces is great, and admittedly, this city could use a few more bands just like this to lower the median age of the ‘Detroit Rock Scene.’ However, I don’t think it does anyone any good (especially not the band itself) to sit and verbally fellate these kids, when everyone could be doing them a favor by pushing the band to develop, rather than making them complacent to stay who they are musically. Taken as a straight-up listening experience, EP is less-than-stellar; looked upon as a work in progress, it’s actually pretty impressive. Which viewpoint are you gonna take? -Gary Blackwell