There Will Be No Intermission

by Amanda Palmer

Overview

Amanda Palmer isn't one for small gestures. Ever since her early days in the punky Dresden Dolls, the singer/songwriter favored grand theatricality, but that tendency reaches its full flower on There Will Be No Intermission, her third album and first solo effort since 2012's Theatre Is Evil. Palmer didn't keep quiet in the interim between these two records -- collaborations in particular abounded -- but given this is her first set of songs in seven years, it would seem this would be a clearinghouse of long-festering ideas. Instead, There Will Be No Intermission is attuned to the moment, an album that attempts to sort through the chaos of 2019, particularly the reckoning engendered by the rise of #MeToo. Palmer views all this turmoil through an individualized perspective that isn't especially restrictive. Operating from the assumption that her personal observations carry universal wisdom, Palmer writes with proud pomp and circumstance, puffing up two songs past ten minutes ("The Ride," "A Mother's Confession"), but never dipping below the five-minute mark. Fleeting instrumental interludes function as palate cleansers between these opuses, which are often anchored in her piano and voice. Even when the arrangements are heightened, as they are with a conventional rock band on "Drowning in the Sound" or strings on "Voicemail for Jill," the album is designed to make the listener lean into Palmer's elliptical verses. Abandoning sculpted hooks for rambling poetry is a canny move by Palmer: it forces attention on the lyrics, since the rest of the record feels deliberately amelodic, with the emotional payoffs arriving via surging crescendos. As such, There Will Be No Intermission is an album designed to demand attention, even if it doesn't necessarily command it -- it's too obtuse and willful for that. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	03/15/2019
Label:	8Ft. Records / Cooking Vinyl
UPC:	0711297388510
Rank:	167082

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Amanda Palmer   Primary Artist,Organ,Piano,Vocals,Ukulele,Synthesizer
Rachel Iba   Violin,Viola
Theresa Richardson   Choir/Chorus
Xine Trevino   Choir/Chorus
Max Henry   Synthesizer
Nicole Garcia   Viola,Violin
Jason Webley   Accordion
Joey Waronker   Drums
John Congleton   Drums,Sequencing,Synthesizer
Jherek Bischoff   Guitar,Cymbals,Vibraphone,Double Bass,Synthesizer,Choir/Chorus,Drums (Bass),Prepared Piano,Vocals (Background)
April Guthrie   Cello
Aniela Perry   Cello
Paris Hurley   Viola,Violin
Simon Vance   Choir/Chorus
Ian Michaels   Choir/Chorus
Paul Bellantoni   Choir/Chorus
Lauren Baba   Viola
Vanessa Rodriguez   Choir/Chorus
Jaron Luksa   Viola,Violin
Jodie Landau   Vibraphone,Glockenspiel
Madeline Falcone   Viola,Violin
Sara Bartel   Choir/Chorus
Michelle Gibson   Choir/Chorus
Anthony Palacios   Choir/Chorus
Carly D. Weckstein   Choir/Chorus
Charlotte Kaufman   Choir/Chorus
David Goren   Choir/Chorus
Joy Craig   Choir/Chorus
Kale Chase   Choir/Chorus
Laurann Angel   Viola,Violin
Lisa Schneider   Choir/Chorus
Marvel Star De La Cruz   Choir/Chorus
Phoebe Pinder   Choir/Chorus

Technical Credits

Amanda Palmer   Composer
Greg Calbi   Mastering
John Congleton   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Jherek Bischoff   Arranger
Allan Amato   Sleeve Photo
Dillie Keane   Composer
Jaron Luksa   Engineer
Tyler Karmen   Assistant