Doppleganger

"Doppelgänger" is essentially a shoegaze album, but it also mixes a bit of grunge and dream pop that makes it a very unique experience. Fortunately or unfortunately in most of the songs everything is on the same level - the drums, the singer, the guitars - which makes it kind of hard to grasp exactly whats going on. Despite this, however, there still remains a strong sense of melody and rhythm. I don't think it has much mass appeal, though, only for those with an open mind or those who are already fans of shoegaze. Another drawback is that it DOES have a couple filler tracks which hurt the overall experience if you're trying to listen to it straight through (but in the end the pros outweigh the cons). The reason I gave this 5 stars is that it's just such a breath of fresh air compared to everything else on the market (even if it IS highly influenced by the likes of My Bloody Valentine. Also, the amount of highlights certainly helps the rating. It inspired future acts like Garbage, too). It might take several listens to get into, and it's not for everyone, but for shoegaze fans and the curious I would definitely recommend "Doppelgänger" (ESPECIALLY considering it's only $8.00!)!Highlights include:"Already Yours""Horror Head""Wish You Dead""Lillies Dying""Ice That Melts The Tips""Split Into Factions""Think & Act""Fait Accompli" (pretty decent song)"Clipped"

After spending much of the early 90s releasing EPs, touring, and building a following, Curve released their first album "Doppelganger" in 1992.The sound of the Curve can be described as a cross between My Bloody Valentine and Garbage. "Doppelganger" is somewhat like My Bloody Valentine in the sense that there is a sea of sounds, with one song drifting into the next. Curves lush feminine vocals and techno beats, however, are more akin to Garbage. Curve's sound possesses the distorted guitars and sonic textures of both.Curve's creative force stems from singer Toni Halliday and guitarist Dean Garcia. Halliday is similar to Garbage's Shirley Manson, in that she has a beautiful voice that can be quite forceful or sensitive.While "Doppelganger" doesn't have any songs quite as addicting as "Queer" or "Only Happy when it Rains," the album as a whole is just about as good as anything Garbage has ever released. Much like My Bloody Valentine, rather than just being a collection of singles, the album is best heard in its entirety"Doppelganger" is easy to fall in love with after just one listen. It's a glorious adrenalin rush, start to finish. The CD never gets monotonous or runs out of steam, as each track is just as enchanting as the next."Doppelganger" has aged really well. It's hard to believe that, as of this writing, it was recorded fifteen years ago. It's surprising and unfortunate that more people aren't familiar with this band. Probably due to timing and promotion, it didn't have the huge sales of Garbage's 1995 self-titled debut, or the cult following of My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless" (1991). That's a shame, because "Doppelganger" is as every bit as good as either release.If you're looking for some cool new music to get into, take a look back in time, as "Doppelganger" is a lost classic that deserves to be rediscovered. Fans of My Bloody Valentine and Garbage are advised to check out "Doppelganger" as well.

For me the killer track is the first one, "Already Yours". The rest of the album sounds like a variation on the ideas present in this song, with the same basic sound. At the same time, Doppelganger isn't one of those albums that has one good song and nine b-sides; it's listenable all the way through, the kind of record that grows on you. It has a slick production that still sounds big and impressive many years after it came out. The only drawback is that the songs have a uniform sound. The music, the vocal performances, and the production are consistent to such a degree that the album feels like one forty-minute song split into movements.Doppelganger came out in 1991 and was only a very modest popular success. I am astonished that it wasn't massive. It sounds almost exactly like Garbage, but four years early. The resemblance is uncanny; Curve's lead singer has the same tone as the lead singer of Garbage, the guitars and drums are just as loud. The production sounds like a million pounds, and has only dated insofar as it sounds like a Garbage album from the mid-1990s, rather than an indie album from 1991. Garbage could have released this as their second album, and it would have topped the charts worldwide in 1996. It's odd to think that this was on the shelves at the same time as Jesus Jones and EMF. If the record company had had any sense, this album should have been re-released in 1996 with a new cover, some remixes tacked on the end, and presto, brand new album. None of these songs would sound out of place on a film soundtrack today. The drums sound huge, the guitarist chimes his guitars like The Edge, with the solid texture of My Bloody Valentine. I know I am driving this point into the ground, but it is astonishing how much the album sounds like Garbage. Having said that, Garbage had more variety, which is perhaps why they were more popular.All of the eleven tracks are listenable, although they have a homogeneous sound, with what sounds like the same drum pattern. The lead singer has a bassy, breathy register that merges with the guitars. "Already Yours" is a fantastic pop song, although I believe it was never released as a single. "Horror Head" is just as good. The album sags a bit in the middle, but that could be because of listener fatigue; "Lilies Dying" is very generic, and although "Ice that Melts the Tips" is a good song, I was getting tired of the unvarying vocal style by that point. I cannot recall "Split into Fractions", but the album picks up after that with the faster "Think & Act". The singer pushes her vocal range with "Fait Accompli", not entirely successfully. "Sandpit" is the slow dancing song, although the album's mood is very gloomy and dark, in a non-specific way reminiscent of Garbage, so it's not ideal if you're DJing at a wedding disco. "Clipped" is a good finale but again very generic. "Wish you Dead" and the title track are splendidly ominous and I imagine they are played a lot in goth clubs, probably.Basically the album's best tunes are loaded into the first half, although if you enjoy the sound, there's nothing to make you swat the tone arm away from the record in disgust. I think Curve got lost amongst all the other one-word indie bands of the period (Lush, Blur, Cake, Suede, etc) which is a terrible shame. I notice that the US Amazon site has far more reviews that the British version; the band's large production style would have gone down well in America, and perhaps Curve made a mistake by staying on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

Toni Halliday and curve an underrated group

デビュー・アルバムのジャパンツアーの名古屋クアトロ公演でライヴ終了後にメンバーがオーディエンス・フロアに登場したのでボーカルのトニと握手をした後ドッペルゲンガーTシャツにサインをしてもらったのが懐かしいですよ。