One-Eyed Doll - BREAK

I'm a guy.  A straight guy.  It stands to reason that I enjoy anything involving attractive females.  On the music front, attractive females are all the rage.  They are especially popular betwixt heavy riffs and black clothing.  Regrettably, I find the average chick-fronted metal band to be a heinous nevus on the pelt of the headbanger commonality.  Would In This Moment be within pissing distance of the charts without Maria Brink's cleavage?  I think not.  Would The Pretty Reckless lay claim to millions of views on YouTube without Taylor Momsen's hindquarters?  Doubtful.  But for every rotten example I can give, there is usually a pussycat rejoinder.  NOTE: In this instance, I'm using "pussycat" as an adjective meaning "pleasant" or "vagina-ish."

If you look a little deeper, you'll see that there are several kickass units moored by petticoats.  As a matter of fact, I've been listening to a lot of Huntress lately, a trad-metal squadron featuring a witch on vocals (no, really).  Oh, and One-Eyed Doll.  I've been listening to a lot of One-Eyed Doll lately.  Break is their third album, and if I had to describe its sound, I would go with "heavy goth."  Not quite metal, although I detect hints of Pantera rampancy.  The Texan duo strikes me as a melodic mestizo of Jucifer and So Die Fluid.  Vocalist/guitarist Kimberly Freeman has a cute chirp of a voice that pairs well with the chug-a-lug grooves storming underneath.

I admit, Break has an offputting Hot Topic/Tim Burton vibe that crimps my gastrointestinal tract.  The imagery is stock, but the songs themselves are dynamic.  "Beautiful Freak" is an energetic stomp.  "See Jane Run" is a minatory dirge stacked with vocal harmonies and augural giggling.  "Cinderblock" is a catchy power ballad about a 10-year-old nipper who snuffs out her abusive sot of a father.  "Resurrection" serves as the epic closing track, and it's my second favorite number here (the first being "See Jane Run").  One-Eyed Doll abrades an assortment of subgenres from impregnable doom to sprightly punk.  Despite morbid lyrics, Break is a blast to...well, blast.  Who says depressing jams can't rock?

I don't dislike a single moment of this compact disc, but some cuts are less memorable than others.  "Airplane Man" is an odd choice for an opener, its steady beat notwithstanding.  "Bumble Bee" and "Redneck Love Song" are amusing, yet questionable filler spots.  If I had my druthers, Break would be an EP, and a damn fine one at that.  Partake in the canticles I listed above (at least sample "See Jane Run").  If you rejoice in murder, psychosis and lovelorn lunacy, One-Eyed Doll could be the band for you.  This record really deserves 3.75 Z'Dars, but I try not to get carried away with fractions.  Robert Z'Dar says, "Broads playing the rock and the roll, huh?  What's next?  The rhythm and the blues?"