Doll

“Punk'N'Roll 8/10 Doll is a raucous female fronted quartet based out of Ottawa, Canada that slings 11 hard driving tracks full of punk, metal, grunge, and rock. Frontwoman Christina Kasper could simply steal the show with her aggressive demeanor and her gritty/streetwise approach to singing, but that wouldn't be fair to the band that surrounds her. While Kasper does add her guitar playing to the mix, Peter Kasper shreds each track with a vibrant blend of metal, punk and good ol' rock'n'roll. The intricate guitarwork ranges from full-on-metallic onslaughts to swirling walls of atmospheric rage and contempt. Nick Richer thunders in the background on the drum kit, helping each track rumble and rock by hammering away and pummeling the tracks into an abrasive viscosity. Add to that the fact that Doll absolutely nails a cover of Billy Idol's White Wedding and you have the makings for a viable leader in the hard punk and metal underground. ”
— Joseph Graham, Outburn Magazine - Outburn Magazine

With its new release, Ottawa quartet Doll demonstrate that grunge isn't dead


With the last ten years in music trends dominated by experiments veering towards post-rock, folk, roots, country, electro and classic rock influences, the tip of many tastemakers is that the ever petulant needle in the compass of music popularity will soon tilt towards the province of heavy music again. Touchpoints from "grunge" – that contentious tag associated with the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden – are popping up with increased regularity, as reunion tours, classic album re-releases and retrospective media coverage mounts. To paraphrase a philosophy expressed by the indie label run by Ottawa-based hard rock band Doll, is it perhaps true that "grunge never died, you did"?

"We get a lot of flak for that from bands, who have told us tons of times that we should just say we are alternative, or rock, and that the ‘grunge’ word is bad," says Doll guitarist Peter Kasper. "We don’t find that to be the case. We love the old grunge bands, but think we’re modern grunge in a way. We’re not trying to mimic the old sounds. We see it as a philosophy, basically that music should be an emotion that people should be able to connect to on a street level, not something that’s overproduced and stuff. We just want to communicate something that’s important to us. Grunge bands when I was growing up, in my perception at least, were like ‘We’re not playing solos, we’re not doing this’ because the glam rock scene was so big and people wanted something different. I thought that was so cool, and that’s what we’re trying to do as well."

A four piece comprised of Christina Kasper (lead vox/ guitar), Pete Kasper (guitar), Nick "Chopz" Richer (drums) and Alex Vance (bass), Doll has just dropped their second full-length, The Ragdoll Diaries, a release chock-full of grunge-related punk and hard rock sensibilities. Building off a breakout year during which they performed at Bluesfest in advance of Three Days Grace, Doll’s second album shows clarity of thought as to the band’s evolving sound and future trajectory.

"Whereas the first album had songs that were metal, punky, kinda rock and grunge, basically all over the place, we went into the writing mode of this one, thinking of what the Doll sound is, what do we want to portray of that sound," explains Kasper. "We decided that we wanted to focus all the songs with a mainly grunge feel, but carefully mixed with some elements of punk and hard rock; we were after a cohesive album and sound."

Another interesting aspect of Doll’s writing process is the use of alter-ego character Sally, a figure that allows the band members some creative distance when writing about difficult material, for example in new song Daddy’s Girl, which addresses issues of abuse.



"The idea behind the alter ego was that we would mix all of our personal experiences into one person called Sally," says Kasper. "It provides an avenue for fans to connect to, and makes it easier in certain songs where the subject matter might be something not so fun. It allows people to connect with something that might not be real, but they can establish a relationship with that and use the music to help them in whatever way. We are big fans of Alice Cooper, and his use of the Steven character, and we’re kind of surprised that bands don’t do that anymore."
- Ottawa Xpress

If Ottawa rapper The Joynt’s song Capcity is an unabashed love letter to his hometown, then local grunge revivalists Doll have written more of a love bite with The City That Fun Forgot.

Frontwoman Christina Kasper admits that the first track on the band’s second album, The Ragdoll Diaries, is a shot at city’s straight-laced side.

“It’s funny because Ottawa’s a big city, right, and there is a lot of stuff going on, but I don’t know if it’s because there’s a lot of government folks and stuff like that — it definitely could be a little bit more vibrant than it is,” she said.

Doll recorded the new album here with producer Jason Jaknunas (Buried Inside, Souljazz Orchestra).

“We spent over a year recording this album and it sounds really, really polished and good compared to the last one, so we’re really proud of it,” Kasper said. - Metro News

Call it a case of “You say tomato and I say tomahto.” Ottawa-based Doll, who officially grabbed the public eye in 2009 with their debut album Inside The Dollhouse, remain steadfast in stamping themselves as a modern day grunge-flavoured act, but my finely-honed musical sensibilities protest. It must be a generational thing, because going into the band’s new album, The Ragdoll Diaries, there’s very little that conjures up visions of the unkempt angst-clenched Vedder / Staley / Cobain-worshipping legions of the ‘90s. Maybe it’s the street-level grit under the band’s proverbial fingernails, but Doll exhibit a healthy aggression delivered with a refreshing punk attitude built for a live audience. For those that have been following the band since their debut, The Ragdoll Diaries has been a long time in coming, and it was a wait that wasn’t made easier with the early 2011 release of three songs – online and for free – as a tease. Vocalist/guitarist Christina Abraham Kasper makes no apologies, calling the move to do so a necessary one.

Christina: “We started recording this album over a year ago, in August 2010. We did the first album in two weeks, but for this one we really took our time. We went into the studio a few times a week and worked on songs here and there. We made them perfect; if there was something bugging us about one song we had the time to fix it. The three songs that we put out, we just wanted to get a buzz going and let people know that we were still around and working hard on a new album. I think some people were a bit surprised that we were working on new songs, so they were excited to hear it. We were playing a lot of new material at our live shows, too, so that’s helped get the buzz going as well.”

In spite of the arguable grunge tag, both Christina and guitarist/husband Pete Kasper agree there’s a punk attitude on the album. Turns out it wasn’t intentional…

Pete: “We didn’t do that on purpose. It just kind of manifested itself. We’ve always tried to kind of keep that grunge element in our music, but even last night at a show we did there was a guys that told us we’ve created a sort of modern grunge sound. I think that makes the most sense to us, because we didn’t want to copy the ‘90s sound even though we’ve always listened to that kind of stuff. We wanted to have those raw elements, but give it a 2011 sound. From what we’ve been hearing I think we did a pretty good job of that on the new album.”

Christina: “The first album has punk songs, metal songs, rock songs… this new one is a little more concise. It’s us saying ‘This is what we want to sound like.’”

Doll quite naturally took their first album into account when writing for The Ragdoll Diaries, but Pete and Christina didn’t draw up a laundry list of do’s and don’ts based on Inside The Dollhouse’s strengths and weaknesses.

Pete: “Every time you do an album you want to better the previous one. There was definitely that goal in mind, but I guess one of the things that we did reference from the first album was the fact it was so jumpy with all the various styles. On this one we consciously focused on what the Doll sound should be. We asked ourselves what it was that we were trying to portray with our music. We picked a specific path with the idea of ‘Let’s see where it takes us.’”

Christina: “We do like the sound on the first album, but this time we really wanted to have that studio band sound. I think you can tell that we spent a lot more time and effort on the new album. A lot of the songs are catchier than the ones on Inside The Dollhouse… we’re better songwriters. At least I like to think so (laughs).”

They were equally as laid back when it came to choosing the first single from the album; a little punk love song called ‘FMO’.

Christina: “It’s funny, because we had already released three songs, and our drummer Nick ‘Chopz’ Richer wanted to do the video editing for the songs we decided to use as the first single. We had ideas for pretty much every song when it came to doing a video, but it just fell on ‘FMO’ as the single. It was just a random choice, not a deliberate thing. We knew it wasn’t going to get radio play (laughs).”

Pete: “When we play ‘FMO’ live we get a huge reaction because it’s easy to sing along with, so it’s almost like a Doll anthem at this point. And the video, even though it was very low budget because we did it ourselves, it was actually nominated at the Ottawa International Film Festival in the music video category. It was incredible being a part of that, with all these other bands that have released these amazingly huge production videos, and us with our $10.00 budget clip (laughs). We were actually in the Top 6 and being reviewed by industry people and MuchMusic. It was awesome. It just proves that it’s all about the music. If you’ve got a good song it doesn’t matter how graphically awesome it looks.”

It’s worth noting that The Ragdoll Diaries features the return of Sally, an integral part of the band’s songwriting at this point.

Christina: “Definitely. We have some songs on The Ragdoll Diaries that are about Sally, and it’s the same concept as on the first album, the same mind frame. We use her to talk about female experiences at a young age, stuff like that, so it’s a part of Doll that we definitely want to keep.”

The band will also be keeping their independent artist status for the time being, although they did seek out a label deal prior to releasing The Ragdoll Diaries.

Christina: “We did send a few things around, but we just knew that with the musical climate we have now it wasn’t going to happen. We have friends here in Ottawa that are in very mainstream bands that labels and radio would kill for, but labels can’t sign them because they don’t have the money. The industry is in shambles right now, so why wait for that opportunity when you can do it yourself, put it out the way you want it, and on your timeline? If a label is interested in us, cool. If not, we’re going to do it on our own.”

In closing, Christina and Pete address their relationship. One would think the old adage about familiarity breeding contempt would be even more applicable as a couple daring to work together in a band, but in this case it’s way off the mark.

Pete: “It actually works out pretty good. We’re in the same house, so if one of us is working on a riff we can just get together and jam on it any time, 24 hours a day (laughs). For the creative process, it’s awesome. And for touring and playing shows, we share in that success. When we’re playing with a bigger band like Spinnerette or Die Mannequin, it’s not one of watching the other thinking ‘Wow, that’s cool, I wish I was on stage…’ We get to share that high together, which is really cool. I think we got lucky.”

Christina: “It’s funny, because we never sit down and say ‘Okay honey, let’s sit down and write a song.’ It’s more like Pete will be working on a riff downstairs and I’ll hear it, and come up with some ideas for putting my guitar over what he’s doing. And boom, we’ve got a song (laughs). The good thing is that we’re not too sensitive. If something doesn’t work we don’t get all pissed off with each other, we just work on something else.”

Pete: “We’ve spoken to other bands, and they’re like ‘You two are married?! I don’t know how you do it…’ (laughs). They act like it’s the worst move in the world, but so far it’s worked for us.”
- Carl Begai - Bravewords & Bloody Knuckles

Female-fronted Ottawa rock band Doll are known for their '90s revival sound, and they'll be embracing that once again with their second album The Ragdoll Diaries. The album isn't due out until on November 18, but you can now listen to the group's follow-up to 2009's Inside the Dollhouse here at Exclaim.ca.

The four-piece are definitely reminiscent of the grunge era and have provided a concise four-word biography of the band: "Rock N' Fucking Roll."

According to a recent press release, the band's music is not without a message. Frontwoman Christina Kasper's lyrical voice acts as a "a call to all, to stand and believe in yourself, take action, to never be silent." The LP was recorded by Jason Jaknunas (Buried Inside, Souljazz Orchestra) and mastered by David Cain (Zeus, Big Jesus Truck).

The Ragdoll Diaries features the track "FMO," whose video was nominated for Music Video of the Year during the 2011 Ottawa Film Festival. The album's sound is rounded out by the "intensity of the drum and bass" and the group's musicianship is emphasized with layers of intricate guitar work, as well as some atmospheric soloing.

Having shared the stage with groups like the Creepshow, Die Mannequin and Danko Jones, Doll are ready to break through to the spotlight with The Ragdoll Diaries, and you can listen to the album now at Exclaim.ca before it hits shelves on November 18 via Grunge Never Died, You Did! Records.
- Exclaim Magazine

It's rare nowadays that I get a record that gives me that good old screeching metal jolt that everyone (in my estimation anyway) needs from time-to-time. I certainly get that from The Ragdoll Diaries, the sophomore album from Ottawa quartet Doll.

The band melt are a relentlessly hard-driving metal machine, with razor-sharp punk arms and hefty grunge legs welded onto it. The breakneck pace of "If I Could" and the take-no-shit first single "FMO" are powered by the vocals of Christina Kasper, who's defiant and forceful style is equal parts Kat Bjelland and Kittie.

If you don't dig Doll's absolutely vicious rendition of Billy Idol's "White Wedding", then you just don't like hard music. This is not music for the tender-eared.

Verdict: Buy It - TO SNOB

Winning one of the LIVE 88.5 Big Money Shot rounds and a cool $5,000 was only the beginning for Peter Kasper and his band Doll.

Ultimately, the band want to popularize the angst-ridden sound of the '90s all over again.

And now that there's doom-and-gloom all over the news, he thinks the time is ripe for music equally as cynical.

"All music eventually comes around again," says Kasper, 30. "The '80s are hot now but we're seeing more bands like Die Mannequin and Sonic Youth doing dirty guitar music. The indie rock scene is pretty laid back right now. It's only a matter of time before things pick up."

Things certainly pick up for Doll tomorrow when they launch their debut album Inside the Doll House with a gig at the Live Lounge.

Fronted by Kasper and his wife Christina on vocals, with Julie-Anne Madore on bass and vocals and Nick Chopz on drums, Doll began -- at least in spirit if not intent -- as a fun tribute to the first-generation shoegazer bands the couple grew up loving.

Nirvana. Sonic Youth. Hole. L7.

"It's all about the emotion," Kasper says. "The attitude comes first. It's a street movement, bigger than the music. Grunge is about life in general."

But winning the LIVE 88.5 Big Money Shot made the band fast-track their long-term plans.

Recorded at Steve Foley's studio in Perth, Inside the Doll House is a big step forward for the band which up to now has worked gigs into whatever time they had leftover from full-time careers.

For Kasper, who is a web master for Canada Post, that means intense weekend tours and doing as much online as possible.

"You don't get a second chance to be in a popular band," he says. "We have the potential to go places."

Only time will tell. - Ottawa Sun

Ottawa's Doll bring back the grunge

The thought of a grunge revival is enough to make anyone who escaped the early '90s without a heroin addiction either hurl or rejoice.
Christina Kasper, lead singer of Ottawa's Doll, believes music could use another injection of grunge. The genre, says Kasper, has the potential to provide a lifeline to an industry that, much like the late '80s, has started to flatline.

"We have a song called Grunge Never Died You Did," boasts Kasper. "The late '90s were all about overproducing and everything was made up - Spice Girls, The Backstreet Boys, 'N SYNC. It was all about trying to market it to the masses."

At a time when indie rock and alternative are making a resurgence, Doll may have its existential finger on the winds of change - its thumb on the pulse of a nation, a continent and a world ready for something new, something real.

"The indie seen is really making a huge comeback and we are seeing some revival of grunge," Kasper says. "Is it going to come back like it did in the '90s? Time will tell. But I think people are starting to head in that direction because they're tired of the generic."

Pete Kasper, lead guitarist who rounds out the band beside Nick Chopz (drums) and Julie-Anne Madore (bass and vox), admits that, while Doll may make grunge

music, they utilize new wave production techniques to create a cleaner sound.

"Basically, new wave grunge is taking the old elements of grunge and using the new sounds that we have available to us," he says. "The result is the same old grunge with a better production value." - Ottawa Xpress

According to Doll's writeup, the band "provides provides the spark necessary to re-ignite the grunge movement" and "the spirit of the band is summed up in the alter-ego named Sally, who’s disturbing life experiences fill out the subject matter sung up by the band." That kind of sounds like a nightmarish combination of Nirvana and Tori Amos, but it was pretty solid 1990s style hard rock in the style of L7 and Hole. - Capital City Rock

What impressed me the most about Doll was the vocals that came out of Christina. The vocals were very strong and heavy which sounded great. I was very surprised at the strength of the vocals because of the size of the lead singer Christina Kasper. Her guitar playing is also worth noting, She can play. She gets on the stage and proves that she can front a Metal band. As I looked around I could tell that the other musicians were taking note of Doll songs, They are catchy and right in your face and LOUD. Pete Kasper picks up the guitars where Christina leaves off. Both Christina and Pete’s guitar blended together nicely unlike most Metal bands where the playing sounds really sporadic. The screams in the vocals were also right on. They sounded great and were placed in the right areas in the song. All the members were not afraid to use the stage which was great they weren’t always standing in one spot. They played out a forty five minute or longer set and they are definitely worth checking out.
- Canada Jams

The debut from Ottawa's Doll caught me instantly like a fish on a hook. This is serious music. Dark, intense and magnetic, this is the kind of gritty '90s grunge that doesn't fuck around. Fronted by the vocally vicious Christina Kasper, Doll recall an angry and confused era of music devoid of pop but not catchiness. Kasper howls in the vein of Courtney Love and Brodi Dalle, and while the lyrics are simple and not exactly fresh, they are impacting. Songs like "Perfect" deal with trying to live up to society's standards, while "Sally Lost Her Shoelaces" and "Daddy's Little Girl" deal with hurt, confusion and heroin against a backdrop of chunky guitars, assaulting drums and badass attitude. Julie-Anne Madore's backing vocals add a whispered, haunting feel to this record. If the dirty rock'n'roll alone doesn't reel you in, nothing will. - Exclaim Magazine

Christina Kasper is a grunge-obsessed rock and her brazen voice has a lot of vitriol to spit in the eyes of unknown assailants. World of Mine, replete with that loud/quiet/loud dynamic perfected by Nirvana. The purposeful lack of soloing clearly states Doll’s modus operandi. Daddy’s little girl, an expletive laden homage to such pas luminaries as Hole and L7. Grunge Never Died, You Did is a sneering anthem that swings like Lollapalooza circa 1994 and with a more focused assault, Doll will be equipped to rawk like the anti-scenester revivalists they’ve always been. - The Ottawa Citizen

The idea that one band is bringing back an entire genre of music may seem ridiculous, but for those that were present that night, it would not seem impossible. Doll had the attitude and energy of the bands that grabbed the world’s attention in the early 90’ but with their own dark and unique sound. In addition to providing a nonstop music assault, Doll also showed the crowd how to move to their music by often pumping their fists, head banding, slamming into each other, and even making visits to the mosh pit. Doll had the intensity of a punk band, melodies of a great rock band and the volume of a metal band, or in other words, the making of a great grunge band. - CHUO 89.1

Thankfully the female-led four-piece Doll decided that if grunge was to flourish in these depressing global times of recessions, Ponzi schemes and flu pandemics it had to redefine itself beyond another forced guise of dark moody teenage angst. And with their full-length debut Inside the Doll House it looks like they've achieved it with no real signs of slacking. Doll merge the dark brooding ferocity of grunge with the catchiness and rawness of punk rock particularly with "Daddy's Little Girl", "Sally Lost Her Shoelaces" and "Grunge Never Died". Evidently even close to a decade into the new millennium the messages in the lyrics still ring true today just as they did 15 or 20 years ago. Guess grunge never so much died as so much as it was in hibernation. But Doll did provide it its first wake-up call of the season. We'll see where it leads from there the further inside the house we go. 4/5 - KNAC