Thou Shalt Not Kill Amanda Palmer

In the "women who sound like men" category, Amanda Palmer takes the cake, primarily because the sample size is fairly small. Methinks it's a lot easier for a dude to sound like a girl, than vice versa. Palmer, of course, is the singer for The Dresden Dolls, the oft-praised indie-cabaret-punk outfit from Boston. Unsurprisingly, her new record Who Killed Amanda Palmer? (Twin Peaks, anyone?) sounds pretty much like a Dresden Dolls release, which means that it's dark, theatrical, uber-emotional, and lyrically quite literal ("who needs love when there's Dukes of Hazzard?"). She mashes the piano keys, squeals and grunts her way to the desired emotional payoff, then suddenly backs off to a beautiful counterpoint. Ben Folds pulled the strings behind the scenes, lending his musical talents both in front of and behind the microphone.

And as a result I dig this, consistently, more than a typical Dolls record. It means something and it's wonderfully hairy and real. And I'm thinking if someone actually did kill Amanda Palmer, I might have to take justice into my own hands.

Listen:
Astronaut (A Short History of Nearly Nothing) [feat. Zoe Keating]
Leeds United
[from Who Killed Amanda Palmer?|buy]