Who Killed Amanda Palmer is – surprise, surprise – Amanda Palmer’s solo album. You still remember who she is? Exactly, one of the two Dresden Dolls. The duo that is known for its piano-based punk cabaret music. Truly something you either like a lot or deeply hate. I liked their albums and so I decided to give this (self-acclaimed) highly personal album a shot.

Originally Palmer’s idea was simple; songs for the piano and voice, recorded in one week in a bedroom, just to get them down on tape. The project turned out to be way bigger than just that. Instead, Ben Folds knocked on Palmer’s door to eventually become the co-producer for this album. And I personally think that the album became less personal by making it such a project. Which, however, doesn’t mean I don’t like the album.

The thing with this album is, it’s not that different from a The Dresden Dolls album. The music is quite bombastic in some songs and more rock-oriented in the others, only to be replaced by gentile passages and poppy melodies in the next song. It basically contains lots of styles, always accompanied by the piano.
Furthermore the music is completed with cymbals, strings, blowing horns and delicate, almost operatic-like moments (the latter to be found in for example ‘What’s The Use Of Wond’rin’). All in all a nice combination, but as I said earlier, it kinda destroys the idea of a “bedroom-recording”.

The vocal department isn’t much of a surprise either. I mean, this woman knows how to sing! Let there be no doubt about that. Palmer has got this lovely raw, rock-oriented voice which she perfectly combines with sweet, ballad-like singing and even some whispering. I definitely gotta give this woman my compliments for her vocal range. But then again, you may very well recognize it as “just another” Dresden Dolls album. Be it that this album sounds a little bit more serious.

So did Amanda Palmer succeed in creating a good album again? She sure did. On the other hand, it’s not something you haven’t heard before. Let’s say it’s a nice album for fans of her earlier work or for people who want to find out what Amanda Palmer/The Dresden Dolls is all about; original, piano-based, singer-songwriter music. Quite a term, but I dare you to figure out a better one, for I can’t.