Search - Curve :: Doppleganger

A long-forgotten gem

M. Lohrke | Provo, UT | 08/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"a precurser to garbage? a post-'loveless' epic? a goth-tinted shoegazer album? 'doppleganger' was all these things and more. my first experience with curve happened on 120 minutes in 1992. i saw the video for 'horror head' and instantly fell in love with toni halliday (what guy who saw that video didn't?). on the strength of that song alone i bought the album. it was one of the better purchases i made when i was getting my budding cd collection off the ground.



at the time i wasn't familiar with my bloody valentine, slowdive, ride and the like, but it didn't matter. it was unlike anything i'd heard up to that point in my life. like most shoegazer bands (though curve isn't really a shoegazer band at all), 'doppleganger' was all about sound and texture. toni voice is often buried in the music, serving more as an additional instrument than a vocal. while this is off-putting to some, the results are often exhilirating. 'horror head' is by far the most accessibe song on the album. toni's vocals, as usual, are icily melodic yet disturbingly detached. she doesn't so much sing as she emotes. while the melodies sound great, there's an undeniable darkness under the surface. much of that credit goes to dean garcia who, among other things, is an exceptional bass player (sometimes i listen to 'doppleganger' solely for the basslines--always unique, always inventive). he's a studio whizz, but also understands that studio trickery can't make a great song. the songs have to be there, and dean's got 'em in spades. and curve didn't insist on living solely in minor-chord land, a move that made curve as much a pop band as a techo/goth/shoegazer/rock band. another whipsmart move from a whipsmart band.



additional standouts (in my opinion) to the outstanding 'horror head' include 'wish you dead,' 'doppleganger,' 'lillies dying,' 'ice that melts the tips,' and 'sandpit.' ah, shoot, the whole album's a standout.



it's true that garbage took more than a few queues from toni halliday and dean garcia. and were there any justic in the world curve would have received just as much attention as garbage did. however, we live in an inperfect and unjust world and since curve split back in 2001, it's doubtful they will ever receive their full due. 'horror head' easily makes an entry in my top ten favorite songs of all-time. it certainly won't appeal to everyone, to be sure, but for hardcore music afficionades, 'doppleganger' exhibits music's vast and infinite possibilities when the majority of today's musicians continually recycle and retread long-tired ideas.



and toni is hot. mercy."

Long before Garbage and Rob Zombie, Curve was rocking the ho

D. S. Thayer | Wheaton, IL | 01/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can't believe it's been almost 15 years since I purchased this CD, as well as saw Curve at Metro in Chicago. I listened to it again the other day, and it still sounds great. Toni's seductively dark but wonderfully powerful voice, accompanied by great guitars and excellent mixes. There are so many good songs on this CD, but for me "Lillies Dying, and Horror Head" stand out. They borrowed from My Bloody Valentine, but influenced many more, Garbage and Rob Zombie to say the least."