Dollhouse - The Rock and Soul Circus

In March of 2003, at the legendary 100 Club in London, four scrappy young Swedish rockers decided to hang around the stage door and hand their 7" single to the bass player of their favourite band -- come hell or high water. After much begging and pleading, they emerged victorious and spilled onto Oxford Street very, very drunk, very happy, and for some unknown reason, completely naked.

The weeks that followed changed the lives of Dollhouse forever. Their hero, Michael Davis of the MC5, brought their record back home to the U.S., gave it a listen, and before they knew it, Dollhouse had a manager (Angela Davis of Svengirly Music), a U.S. record deal (Dim Mak Records), and Michael Davis producing their record.

The debut full length by Dollhouse is titled "The Rock and Soul Circus." The record is jam packed with real-deal rock and roll. Screaming guitars, soulful guitars, screaming vocals, soulful vocals, it all melds into an intoxicating experience that Michael Davis himself describes as "What the MC5 wished we could sound like. Maybe the fact that we didn't grow up in the 1990s in a small town in Sweden was the problem."

During the recording of The Rock And Soul Circus, friends Lisa Kekaula (The Bellrays), Lars Strouberg (International Noise Conspiracy), Dante Adrian (Starlight Desperation), and Sam Velde (Bluebird), popped into the studio to add their two cents (or at least some background vocals). Davis himself backed the band on a killer version of the MC5's "Human Being Lawnmower." The end result is energy, timing, an onslaught of wah-wah, rock and soul, and the feeling that a revolution is starting right outside your door. The Rock And Soul Circus is sure to become the record that you will want for the soundtrack of your life story.

Another Note: Dollhouse appears in a DVD titled "Sonic Revolution: A Tribute to The MC5" (Image Entertainment/Muscle Tone Records, 2004). This features the surviving members of the MC5 as well as Lemmy (Motorhead), Dave Vanian (The Damned), Ian Astbury (The Cult/The Doors), Jack White, Death in Vegas, DJ Zane Lowe, and many others. A world tour will celebrate the release, and Dollhouse has been invited to participate as a support act. What an opportunity to take this Rock And Soul Circus on the road!

Dim Mak Releases:
DM067: Dollhouse "Rock and Soul Circus" LP/CD September 14, 2004

Press

Updated 9/7/05
Skyscraper Fall '05
Review:The Rock and Soul Circus
Words: Josh Prettyman
I'm sure that you've heard more then one of those Swedish rock bands that sound like MC5, you probably even have a favorite. But now you get to hear Micheal Davis'(MC5 bassist) favorite Swedich rock band that sounds like MC5. He likes them so much that when he heard there seven-inch, he hooked them up with a label and produced their record. I feel like I ought to be playa hatin' on this quartet of young toughs, guitars all slung low and amps all turned up all loud and shit, but damn this shit does rock! Seeing how as no one state-side is strumming the axes exactly like this anymore-is this actually true? Hell no!-it's good to hear some loud, fast, grimy rock n' roll comin' out of the speakers, regardless of whence it came. Yeah, it ain't profound, hell it ain't even that original, but has that ever really mattered in the least? Turn this shit up, shut your trap, and let the sonic sounds of Dollhouse rock your shit. If you've got an ass needs shakin' and something new to shake it to, ain'y going to hurt you none at all to rock out this new record.


Updated 2/07/05
Impose Dec.04/Jan 05
Dollhouse
The Rock and Roll Circus
Dim Mak
Words:AMH
"Whippets and weed, distortion pedals and skipping out of study hall to go get stoned, that's the first thing that comes to mind as the opening moments of "Shangrila Tiger" come flying out of the speakers. Deliriously deluded guitar wail of the kind that takes root in everything from southern boogie and Johnny Winter to Mark Franer, from salty blues jams to Hendrix, from middle earth fairy dust to Jimmy Page. Dollhouse are another Swedish gang of guitar slingers championed and produced by Michael Davis of MC5. Their cover of the MC5's "Human Being Lawnmower" captures the 1960s time warp, and like the originators, takes rock n'roll down that rough road back to its R & B orgins (even if it's by accident). The blues/rock/soul hybridization heard in hard rock language was subsumed by the new rock that emerged in the 1990s. The garage rock exploitation that has reared its head in recent years represents both the good (Hellacopters) and bad (Jet) aspects of this new kind of cannibalization of culture. You can hear the music recycling itself through songs like "Born Under A Bad Sign" and "Come On Baby." That's where the music is today, it's a simulacrum of sorts. But a band like this can still grab my attention with good songwriting largely because the freestyle guitar work just sounds so spontanious and the songs are just so damn much fun, and sometimes that's really all it's about. It has a flow that feels like it's uncoiling for the first time right before your ears. Some of my friends will call this dervative, but they said the same thing about Big Chief and that never stopped me."

Updated 2/07/05
Dollhouse named "one to watch in '05" by Anthony Mark Happel of Impose magazine

Updated 1/06/05
Sars-O-Rama
Dollhouse: "Rock and Soul Circus"
Dim Mak Records
"So first to get a listen was this group who for the most part I've never heard of and had little idea of what to expect. Yeah, Michael Davis of MC5 liked them enough to produce the album, but I mean, what's it going to be like? I won't lie, I tried finding this online so I can give it a listen before I buy, but I didn't find it on slsk. Still, I was confident that it'd be fucking good. Why? Well, it's on Dim Mak for one, and it's rock n soul, black.
So was it good? Yes. Yes it was, and is. The first listen seriously blew me away, for various reasons. Firstly, I couldn't believe that I was listening to this and liking it, and second, how smooth it was. The music sounds so vintage, very late 60s/early 70s funk rock (while the album artwork is more late 70s disco). I found myself laughing at the fact that my dad would probably like this, which is, for some reason, something I can't help but consider strange. Lead singer Chris Winters has a voice that just sounds much like Stollsteimer does for the Von Bondies, but dipped and dripping with sensuality.
Two covers on this album; an MC5 tune and, yes, a James Brown song. I think we can safely say 'Human Being Lawnmower' is more like the original than 'I Got The Feelin,' but I would vouch for the fact that the latter certainly adheres to the spirit of the usurped original.
I really enjoyed this album and still do, finding relief in the upbeatness and the focus on rocking out as opposed to delivering some type of message like some of the other music I've been listening to lately. The song content is perfectly pop-worthy (in a good way), and there's a good balance of guitar work focus and vocal emphasis. Add some effective backing vocals from some people I've never heard of (sorry) and you end up with a full package able to satiate most peoples' hunger for something new yet familiar. This is a safe purchase as is possible. Trust (like you should).

Updated 11/19/04
Allmusic.com
Dollhouse- The Rock and Soul Circus
Words: Kenyon Hopkin
"The debut from Sweden's Dollhouse is just what its title implies: a raucous blend of rock & roll and while soul, topped with a raw, live sound. None of this should come as a surprise, considering that the band practically worships the MC5 and that the disc was indeed produced by the MC5's Michael Davis. Vintage equipment from the '60s and '70s makes them seem more like a tribute to their idols, especially while covering the MC5's 'The Human Being Lawnmower.' The band does stand on its own, albeit with tons of screeching guitar, wailing vocals, and a slight sense of experimentation. When they're not being taken over by the power of rock & roll, they add a little sould. 'Born Under a Bad Sign' (with backing vocals from Lisa Kekaula) and 'I Got the Feelin' are like a high-voltage James Brown. The Hives and Jet may have already crossed over to the pop charts, but unlike those bands, Dollhouse's brand of garage punk is a smart emulation of its influences' original intent."

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