Albums to watch

Theatre Is Evil

Amanda Palmer & the Grand Theft Orchestra

Theatre Is Evil

Theatrical alt-pop and dark cabaret on the first release with her new band from the onetime Dresden Doll singer-songwriter

ADM rating[?]

7.5

Label
8ft
UK Release date
10/09/2012
US Release date
11/09/2012
  1. 10.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    In every sense, Theatre Is Evil sounds like a million dollars
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  2. 9.0 |   PopMatters

    Fans paid for the project, so she’s giving them exactly what they wanted: a truly special album, one that will reach out and grab you by the lapels and shake the life out of, or into, you
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  3. 8.8 |   The AU Review

    The lyrics are as clever as ever and remain just as catchy while telling so many stories and morals
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  4. 8.7 |   Paste Magazine

    This record isn’t simply a record, it’s an emotional, intricate experience
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  5. 8.0 |   State

    It’s all a bit new wave, really. But wasn’t new wave worth revisiting? If you think so, it’s right here
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  6. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    Reveals a vibrant songwriter as keen on the rigours of classical piano, polka and waltz as she is on punk
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  7. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    If there’s an element of parody in the form (and this being Palmer it’s hard to imagine there’s not) the music itself is so thrillingly executed that you’re swept along anyway
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  8. 8.0 |   Q

    A vivid splurge of new wave, glam-rock and showtunes. Print edition only

  9. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    Theatre Is Evil has an unshakeable aura of assured self-confidence
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  10. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    Unpredictably brilliant; just when you think you have Palmer sussed across one or two tracks, along comes another one or two to overturn your preconceptions
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  11. 7.8 |   Beats Per Minute

    A big album with a grand scale and an even grander sound — when it’s playing, it’s hard to ignore
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  12. 7.0 |   The Quietus

    Given proper attention Theatre Is Evil unfolds into something multilayered and quite lovely
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  13. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    You could call it retro: the synths, tensile guitar riffing, and hiccupping Lene Lovich vocals are pay homage to late Seventies-early Eighties New Wave and Goth-pop
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  14. 7.0 |   NME

    A bombastic offering of forthright glam-pop and poignant piano-pushed desire. Print edition only

  15. 7.0 |   DIY

    Fearless in her new project, Amanda has created a grander production than ever before, allowing herself to teeter on the poppier-edges that she'd previously avoided
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  16. 6.0 |   The Skinny

    At times is hampered by disparate styles and an unwieldy tracklisting
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  17. 6.0 |   No Ripcord

    Perhaps the best way to approach Theatre Is Evil is not even as an album, but rather a collection of songs – all fairly similar but often good, sometimes very much so
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  18. 4.5 |   Under The Radar

    A passing fancy
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Amanda Palmer & the Grand Theft Orchestra: Theatre Is Evil

  • Download full album for just £8.49
  • 1. Meow Meow Introduces the Grand Theft Orchestra N/A
  • 2. Smile (Pictures or It Didn't Happen) N/A
  • 3. The Killing Type N/A
  • 4. Do It with a Rockstar N/A
  • 5. Want It Back N/A
  • 6. Grown Man Cry N/A
  • 7. Trout Heart Replica N/A
  • 8. A Grand Theft Intermission N/A
  • 9. Lost N/A
  • 10. Bottom Feeder N/A
  • 11. The Bed Song N/A
  • 12. Massachusetts Avenue N/A
  • 13. Melody Dean N/A
  • 14. Berlin N/A
  • 15. Olly Olly Oxen Free N/A
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