Album Review: Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra - Theatre Is Evil

Amanda Palmer has written some remarkably good songs over her career, both solo and for The Dresden Dolls. She has a great knack for melody and pop – creating songs that are catchy without being annoying – and has crafted some genuinely intelligent lyrics. None of those virtues are on display on this new release, a painfully middling indie-rock record displaying none of her usual uniqueness.

Palmer has always gotten great mileage out of her expressive vocals: from breaking-voiced sadness to screamed aggression, she's used volume and dynamics to communicate and reinforce her work's emotional impact. Throughout Theatre Is Evil, the arrangements are too busy and the instrumentation far too loud, so when Palmer's voice carries no emotional heft, it just sounds like she's yelling to be heard over the guitar.

Ah yes, the guitar. Palmer is known principally as a pianist, but for much of the album the instrument is barely existent. Instead, when she plays, she seems to be borrowing instruments from other artists: Gary Numan's synth sounds, Tori Amos' harpsichord, even Lily Allen's vocal insouciance. For a musician with such an identifiable sound, it's a great shame to have her submerge it in favour of mediocre impersonations.

There are solid moments on the record, and many of the songs are catchy, with the occasional clever line. After very few listens though, the lyrics begin to ring rather hollow, the bad lines more frequent and prominent than the skilful ones, and there's no pleasure in having the melody stuck in your head. Overall, Theatre Is Evil is a weak effort from an artist capable of significantly more.