- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Alternative PressThis 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]
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Overall, the album is an honest, and at times heartbreaking, exploration of life’s struggles and losses.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Aside from a few tedious moments, that's no reason to complain.
-
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.
-
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.
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 28 out of 32
-
Mixed: 2 out of 32
-
Negative: 2 out of 32
-
Jan 24, 2013
-
Nov 1, 2010
-
GarySMay 25, 2009