Doppelgänger (Curve album)


Doppelgänger is the debut studio album by British alternative rock band Curve. It was released on 9 March 1992 by Anxious Records in the United Kingdom, and by Charisma Records in the United States.
A continuation of the musical idiom established by the group on its three earlier EPs, the record combines elements of dance music and alternative rock with the reverb- and distortion-heavy stylings of shoegazing.

Reception

In Q, David Cavanagh wrote, "Every song here is swimming in guitars – mashed, chewed, flanged, compressed, squally, howling, whatever. But no matter how cacophonous the music gets, Halliday's voice is terrifically sensual and seductive, sounding just the pretty side of evil. As keen subscribers to the interpret-how-thou-wilt school of lyric writing, Curve's possible grievances are most addressed using drums and guitars: 'Faît Accompli', the new single, is a singalonga-schizoid affair, tuneful but menacing; 'Think and Act' has a touch of 'Where the Streets Have No Name' guitars, but it's way tougher. Variations in mood are slight – a little slowing down for 'Lillies Dying'; some Indian sampling for 'Horror Head' – until the final song, a cold, grey ballad called 'Sandpit' that only adds to Doppelgänger's shopping list of unexplained treats."
Musician said: "Curve's thick, psychedelic throb crosses the electrobeat aggression of Front 242 with the blurred guitar drone of Lush, an approach that allows the band the advantages of both styles without becoming openly in thrall to either. And it sounds just fine, in part because of the care with which Dean Garcia tends his soundscapes, and mostly because of the way Toni Halliday's cool, throaty vocals snake melody through the thick-swirling grooves. A singularly entrancing album."
In their end-of-year round-up issue, Q said, "Doppelgänger delighted with its thrashy guitar sounds, bone-rattling drum tattoos and cool, poised vocal performances." Q featured it again in a feature on "goth" albums: "A thundering, subtly melodic debut drowned out the critics and, though it was all over two years later, the multimillion-selling Garbage had certainly learned something."

Legacy

In 2014, Doppelgänger was included in PopMatters list of "10 Essential Non-‘Loveless’ Shoegaze Albums". In 2016, Pitchfork ranked Doppelgänger at number 40 on its list of "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time", with Stephen Thomas Erlewine of the site saying:

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

;Curve
;Additional personnel