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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Who Killed Amanda Palmer
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 13 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 19 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Roadrunner
Release Date: 16 September 2008
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Rock, Alternative
Summary
The debut album for the Dresdan Dolls singer was produced with Ben Folds.
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
musicOMH.com
The album's not for everyone, but if her sound is to your taste, then it will prove a rewarding, delectable, necessary thing: one of this year's most consistently interesting albums.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe
What is both surprising and remarkable, then, is how unflinchingly direct, bracingly unfiltered, and wholly intimate the new album, which is out today, sounds and feels.
Read Full Review >Delusions of Adequacy
This is a wonderful piece of work from a talented, intelligent artist, put across with all the passion of someone who's spent a long time thinking about and living with the project.
Read Full Review >The Guardian
Like strong coffee, it's not for everyone - this is an album that follows Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'What's the Use of Wond'rin' with a distressingly jaunty teen's-eye tale of abortion and Britpop--but it packs a mighty punch.
Read Full Review >Alternative Press
This disc is more fun than leafing through a schizophrenic's case history and twice as loud--and this reviwer can't wait for the sequel. [Oct 2008, p.158]
Paste Magazine
Overall, the album is an honest, and at times heartbreaking, exploration of life’s struggles and losses.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
Aside from a few tedious moments, that's no reason to complain.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
In truth Who Killed Amanda Palmer spans a decade of songwriting, and by 'Leeds United' the disc has revealed itself as a broad collection of rich character studies born of Palmer's lyrical acuity, likely laced with personal touches that nudge some of the material toward the at least loosely autobiographical.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
So typical of Palmer’s eclectic nature, this album is a sloppy but very endearing hodgepodge of styles, the mark of an artist so bursting at the seams with creativity, that we can’t help but admire even its imperfections.
Read Full Review >Drowned In Sound
Palmer has made a record that sounds not like the latest from Brechtian punk cabaret's leading light, but the thoughtful debut from an invigorated artist, striking out from the valley of the Dolls.
Read Full Review >Spin
The album is a dark gem, a high-IQ song cycle that combines guilt, neurotic lust, and low self-esteem into piano-based tunes that come studded with lyrical daggers.
Read Full Review >Urb
There may be no safer bet than an Amanda Palmer’s bleeding-heart album--her built-in fan base will eat it up the same way they voraciously devoured Tori Amos’ open wound a decade ago--but the Palmer Show is strong enough to sustain much more daring theatrics than what’s given here.
Read Full Review >Under The Radar
Without Viglione as a foil, the songs on Palmer's solo debut seem to have lost some delicacy and character. [Fall 2008, p.78]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 9.6 (out of 10) based on 19 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Gary S gave it a9:
I can't get enough of this album. It does take a few listens to reaveal itself but when it does, it's amazing. This is my album of the year so far. Although, I haven't thought that through yet but right now this is.
Queue Three gave it a10:
Amanda Palmer has to be one of the best lyricists of this recent century. I'd rate this ten even if it didn't have any music, it was just a recorded poetry reading. The outstandingly spectacular music only serves to top off this amazing offering.
Hank L gave it a10:
Absolutely stunning. Haven't felt this way since I first heard Devil Doll.
Stéphanie gave it a10:
Incredible album once you get into it. Love Amanda, love the Dresden Dolls.
L. J. gave it a10:
The first through fifth times I listened to this album, I figured it a little less interesting than the previous Dresden Dolls offerings. But I kept listening. Clever songs that reward further attention and analysis. A great (slightly more ravaged) voice. OMG drama instrumentals. Amanda Palmer is something special.
Wally S gave it a9:
This album will make you feel something. Palmer knows how to draw the listener in and become part of each of her songs. I laugh and I cry when listening to these songs. You can't listen and not have a reaction.
Eric D. gave it a9:
What a gem Amanda Palmer is! AMAZING body of work! A tour de force - she's hafe a Doll but twice the punch sonically - and I feel The Dresden Dolls are genius! Who Killed Amanda Palmer is album of the year by far! Stand out tracks: Astronaut, Runs In The Family, Leeds United, Ampersand, Gutiar Hero, The Point Of It All.
