Amanda Palmer

Who Killed Amanda Palmer?, Amanda Palmer's first solo effort, could've easily been called Girl, Interrupted. It's a musical nuthouse of kinetic, vaudevillian verses about sexual depravity and massive melodies about "Lovely astronauts." However, what else would you expect from The Dresden Dolls' enigmatic frontwoman? Palmer's ability to gorgeously croon about pure weirdness proves her utter genius. The line between dark and light is a fine one, and Amanda never loses her balance. With a devilish smirk, she tiptoes gracefully right on it.

The album's opening track, "Astronaut: A Short History of Nearly Nothing," possesses an epic sense of whimsy. The chorus reaches heavenly heights, allowing Palmer to flex her vocal prowess. The lyrics are both depressing and uplifiting, and one decisive mood can never be pegged. Palmer's gotten more illusory than ever, but that also makes for some of her most interesting output yet—check "Oasis" and "Runs In the Family." The latter bleeds sexual tension with a furious piano melody and speedy chorus.

Meanwhile, on the slow and painful "Ampersand," Palmer exclaims, "I'm not gonna die for you…I ain't no Juliet." Her classical references strengthen the song's effect, and it's hard not to feel what she's saying. Again, she questions the validity of love over a massive show tunes-style crescendo on "Leeds United." The Dresden Dolls' theatrical bombast is certainly preserved on Who Killed Amanda Palmer?, but Palmer gets even more personal on the morose, six-minute "Another Year" and the dreamy "What's the Use of Wondrin."

Even though this girl may be a bit interrupted, it doesn't matter because she remains one of the most intriguing female voices out there.

—Rick Florino
09.22.08

As the story goes, what was originally intended to be a mere piano and vocal bedroom recording of material that was deemed too balladic for Dresden Dolls' albums became an epic project by a twist of fate. After Ben Folds contacted Amanda Palmer by e-mail to randomly tell her that he was a fan of her music, they made plans to play some shows in Australia, where, upon meeting, the two wry-humored piano bashers found they shared a lot in common. He offered her future use of his Nashville studio, and once she accepted, he put on the producer hat and started taking the once raw songs to new heights with extensive layering. Along with Folds, who played keyboards and percussion himself, East Bay Ray of the Dead Kennedys, Annie Clark of St. Vincent, a horn section, cellist Zoe Keating, and a children's choir were all recruited to help round out the songs. Who Killed Amanda Palmer isn't a hugely drastic departure from the established Dresden Dolls formula with Brian Viglione; strangely, even with the added orchestrated bells and whistles, it's actually very similar sounding to their stripped-down sound as a two-piece. ~ Jason Lymangrover, All Music Guide