Amanda Palmer, so far best known as one half of the creative force behind The Dresden Dolls, is set to release her first solo album. \'Who Killed Amanda Palmer\', a reference to cult tv series Twin Peaks, will be out via Roadrunner Records on September 16th.
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Amanda has amassed mountains of critical acclaim touring the world as vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter for The Dresden Dolls, featuring Brian Viglione on drums. By experimenting with broader musical stylings on \'Who Killed Amanda Palmer\', Amanda showcases endless creativity, exposing herself as a woman whose artistic endeavors have no boundaries.
Ben Folds: producer and drummer \'Who Killed Amanda Palmer\' began as a minimal affair: Amanda decided to record a solo album for piano and voice, made in her bedroom, finished in a week. During a chance meeting with Ben Folds in Australia, the two bonded over mutual loves and suddenly the record was moved out of the bedroom and into Folds\' Nashville-based recording studio. Ben Folds proposed to act as producer, and added some drum tracks to the recordings as well.
Musical tour de force Mixing the magical and the macabre, the mundane and the sentimental, \'Who Killed Amanda Palmer\' is a musical tour de force, the culmination of nearly ten years\' worth of songwriting. Some songs on the album pop and twist with the intensity of their own subject matter while others are soft and intimate, revealing sides of Amanda not usually seen within her work in The Dresden Dolls.
Guest appearances \'Who Killed Amanda Palmer\' features guest turns from the likes of The Dead Kennedys\' East Bay Ray (on Guitar Hero), St. Vincent\'s Annie Clark (on a warped take on Carousel\'s What\'s the Use of Wondrin\'), cellist Zoe Keating, and string arrangements by master composer Paul Buckmaster.
\'Who Killed Amanda Palmer\' will feature liner notes written by celebrated graphic novelist Neil Gaimen, with whom Amanda will be collaborating on a photography book in tandem with the album\'s release. Amanda is set to embark on a tour in support of the album later in 2008.
The tracklisting for Who Killed Amanda Palmer is as follows: