There Will Be No Intermission CD

Fired up by the #MeToo movement and the rise of global fascism, former Dresden Dolls frontwoman Amanda Palmer returned to the studio last year to record what she says is her most "powerful and personal" album yet. "There Is No Intermission" certainly makes for intriguing listening, not only because of the weighty themes Palmer handles in the lyrics - grief and loss being recurring topics - but also the quality of the music, which tends towards the sparse and minimal (think piano and voice, or ukele and voice) with occasional grandiose productions scattered throughout the album. Also impressive are the cinematic interludes included between tracks, which sit somewhere between heartfelt soundtrack fare and emotion-rich ambient. In summary: a triumphant return.