Who Killed Amanda Palmer

Amanda is amazing. Her voice is so unique and powerful, and it gives you chills. To anyone who likes emotional, powerful music, I would definitely recommend this album. 100% worth the money spent.

I'm in love :)

Amanda's commitment to the craft and to the truth are exquisitely on display in the layers of this album. I never get tired of listening, there is always something fresh to catch my ear. I love every single song, which is rare, but if I had to pick my favorites are "Runs In The Family", "Astronaut", and "Ampersand".

Amanda Palmer is a real artist; she is not the result of some corporate sponsored "talent" search. She's in pain; she's honest; she's a divine instantiation inhabiting my own oneiric welkin. (Ya, a bit of poetic prosody as an homage to Amanda. Sonorous you say? Well indeed. She deserves it.)

Amanda Palmer's creativity is limitless in it's beauty, her skill with her instrument undeniable, and her lyrical prowess unmatched. If you enjoyed the Dresden Dolls works, this CD is a perfect compliment and easily worth 5 stars. I prefer this to the extended edition, and suggest purchasing the one song from it that is not actually on here (Strait) by itself, however, I strongly believe supporting this band is well worth the investment.

This woman is an amazing artist and a powerful person. Her music is a public display of such. This CD is no exception, both newcomers and seasoned listeners will love it and want to have her babies. Well, sort of.

To be honest, I haven't really listened to the Dresden Dolls over the past couple years. Although after I picked this up at my local Bull Moose I have purchased their two efforts. Who Killed Amanda Palmer, originally intended to be a small, muted affair, became a dramatic piece of music that seems to blend the emotional rawness of Tori Amos' Little Earthquakes and the theatrical sound of From the Choirgirl Hotel. Amanda Palmer has easily become one of my favorite artists this year. From beginning to end, WKAP is a succinct, 12 song collection comprised of some old songs that Palmer played live and some new tracks that had never seen the light of day. As stated before, WKAP was originally meant to be, as Palmer herself states, "record-in-in-my-underwear-in-my-apartment-in-boston" sort of compilation. Then the magical Ben Folds came along and said that he was a fan of her band and then BAM! He's co-producing her new album and bringing in ALL sorts of guests. Doing research on the two of them [because I honestly don't listen to Ben Folds either!], it was really surprising to see that these two are quite different in style! Amanda has a darker, more stripped voice that brings to mind PJ Harvey and Marianne Faithfull while Ben Folds seems more like...Coldplay and Snow Patrol. This collaboration could have been a disaster, but ended up making this release one of the hottest releases in 2008. [This year has been a fantastic year for music!] Overall, I have never felt such a strong bond to an album since Little Earthquakes. Like Amos' 1992 debut, Palmer has created an album that's breathtakingly honest, blunt, and ambitious. I haven't been been able to stop listening to it. And trust me, if you like Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, or Rachael Yamagata, you will LOVE this album!

BUY. THIS. ALBUM. NOW. Amanda is amazing with Brian in the Dolls, and Amanda solo is just...wow. Beyond anything else. This album is very Amanda--a mix of the peppy, the ironic, the sarcastic, the artistic, the deep and truly soul-wrenching...it has everything. If you love The Dresden Dolls, you'll love this album. If you hate the Dresden Dolls, you'll love this album. If you have no idea who the Dresden Dolls are, you'll love this album. WKAP has simply everything. I laughed out loud the first time I heard Oasis, it was that good, and I cry every single time I hear Strength Through Music. I can't pick a favorite song, they're all amazing. Go buy it. NOW.

From the somber, beautiful "Strength Through Music", to the near-jazzy vibes of "Leeds United", to the piano ballad "Ampersand", Amanda continues to impress. Buy the whole album. It's that good.

A lot of people say they can't see the difference between this album and the Dresden Dolls stuff, but I've noticed a lovely difference as I've listened more. While the Dresden Dolls did have many personal songs, a lot of them seemed very detached from Amanda and many of them dealt with social issues. These songs are deeply personal, straight from her heart. She holds nothing back in her piano playing and her singing and I even feel like she sounds more free without Brian (not to say that she should ditch him, of course, because the Dolls are fabulous :P). However, I do feel like this album is purely hers, and not a replica of a Dolls album. The sweeping melodies carry you off and are fantastic for driving too. Runs in the Family is often compared to Girl Anachronism, but, while Girl Anachronism was basically a crazy girl blaming her problems on being born by C section, Runs in the Family is more of a tribute to the craziness and pressure of the conscience and the "family" inside of her...It's much more personal and has more room for interpretation. These songs can definitely be related to better than Dolls songs because they are far more personal and straight from the heart. They fill you up and will change your life. I can't get enough of this album. I wish I could give it ten stars.