“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. ”
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Joseph Graham, Outburn Magazine
“Few words from the music encyclopedia bring waves of nostalgia back stronger than the mere mention of "grunge." Itself a semi-corrupt term for a scene nobody really understood at the time, grunge was more of a label for an era of rock philosophy – one in reaction to 80s glam and cock-rock – than it was a description of a particular sound. Ottawa band Doll clearly understand this principle, for though they proudly slap the label of grunge on their music, it is more of a badge of affiliation with the ideals of the time than the actual grunge scene. In The Ragdoll Diaries, 12 tracks of heavy rock riffs build on the wave after wave of ascending guitar sections that buoy the impressive range of lead singer Christina Kasper. ”
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Cormac Rea, Ottawa Xpress
“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.
(Independent)”
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Sheena Lyonnais, 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.”
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TO Snob
“Despite its progressive nature, punk rock is largely dominated by men; however, Ottawa’s Doll demonstrates clearly that women can hold their own as the face of a punk band.
Ragdoll Diaries is the band’s second album. With dirty bar rock forming the backbone of their sound, vocalist Christina Kasper’s singing is a throwback to ’90s grunge acts such as Hole or L7. The band’s rhythm section does a great job supporting Kasper’s vocals, which are certainly the centerpiece of the band’s music.
After releasing Inside the Dollhouse in 2009, Doll spent a few years touring much of Canada alongside bands such as SNFU, Danko Jones, The Creepshow, and others. It appears as though rubbing shoulders with some of the genre’s finest has rubbed off on the band, who demonstrate a more mature and confident style with their latest release than in previous work. If Doll is coming through your neck of the woods, you’d be remiss not to check them out.”
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Canadian Musician Magazine
