Amanda Palmer: Who Killed Amanda Palmer

It makes sense that Who Killed Amanda Palmer, the solo debut by

singer-pianist Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls, started small but snowballed

into a yearlong multi-studio production with Ben Folds at the helm. Everything

Palmer does is a production—particularly The Dresden Dolls' theatrical

performances, where she and drummer Brian Viglione perform in whiteface and

tear into their songs with dramatic abandon. For her solo album, Palmer planned

to collect songs that didn't need drums, record them in her bedroom, and

release them, to little fanfare.

Traces of that plan remain on Palmer's quieter moments. "Ampersand"

sounds like a fairly typical Dolls ballad in the vein of "Delilah" (from 2006's

Yes Virginia),

but the string arrangements by renowned composer Paul Buckmaster (The Rolling

Stones, Carly Simon, Elton John) quickly distinguish it as something more

ambitious. And Palmer is decidedly ambitious: "Guitar Hero" (featuring East Bay

Ray of the Dead Kennedys) has layers of sound that cohere into something

forceful, while "Leeds United," recorded on a whim in Scotland, has an

off-the-cuff rawness balanced by brassy horns. Then there's "Oasis," a jaunty

little song about rape and abortion, complete with doo-wop backup vocals. That

last one won't surprise Dolls fans, who are used to Palmer's predilection for

taboo—actually, nothing on the album will surprise them, as Palmer sticks

closely to her established style. Aside from a few tedious moments, that's no reason to

complain.