Welcome to the Dollhouse

Album Review

Danity Kane exist in a strange netherworld of pop culture, where you either know everything about the girl group or you know nothing about them. Despite debuting at the top of the Billboard charts with their eponymous 2006 debut, on its way to eventual platinum sales, the group didn't seem to make any impact outside of MTV, the place where their construction was meticulously, endlessly documented on the third season of Making the Band. The popularity of Making the Band 3 pushed Danity Kane into the Top Ten, and the very existence of a Making the Band 5 featuring DK and subsequent MTB winners Day 26 and Donnie J, all making albums at the same time and jockeying for success, no doubt gave hope to Danity Kane and their producers that the group's second album, Welcome to the Dollhouse, might also achieve a high chart placement. All five of the DK girls are conventionally pretty in their voices (not to mention their looks), and were picked for the group because they're pliable. Although they thoroughly disappear into these productions, dense on rhythms but lacking hooks, there are some notable tracks — "2 of You" has slinky rhythms that make up for the nonsensical "you've got me having breakfast in the afternoon" refrain and "Lights Out" has an appealing dose of Minneapolis funk in its keyboard, as does "Key to My Heart," which shimmers slyly. Nevertheless, hearing Welcome to the Dollhouse will be most interesting if you've witnessed the labors on Making the Band.