It takes my breath away.
It takes my breath away.
Theatre Is Evil is proof that the ‘pledge’ idea that many artists are embracing nowadays can pay healthy dividends. It’s also a shocking indictment of the state of the current music industry that something like this required crowd-funding. If labels really want to survive, they should start to focus their attention on projects like this than most of the ‘safe’, bland material that they think will sell. Not only that, but’s Theatre Is Evil is proof that, if you’re going to collect over a million dollars of fans money, then you’d better put it to good use. Mrs Gaiman? You need not worry for that money has been well spent. Theatre Is Evil is an extraordinary piece of work.
It’s so good, listening to it makes you forget almost everything else you’ve ever heard. It’s a full on sonic assault on the senses. It explodes out of the speakers, bold and oh so powerful and it doesn’t let up AT ALL for an entire hour. I doubt you’ll hear a more exciting album this year. If the joyous Smile (Pictures or it didn’t happen) doesn’t get you, then The Killing Type is sure to grab you by the scruff of the neck and make you yelp with delight. While we’re at it, if Do It With A Rockstar doesn’t make you want to destroy a hotel room then you simply have no pulse and I’d get yourself to the doctors right away.
Dear spiritual deity of choice I love this album. It’s a heady mix of post punk and pure pop and sheer sparkle and effervescence. Taking all the cabaret dynamics of her early Dresden Dolls material, Palmer marries it to a love of Siouxsie and the Banshees and Kate Bush and filters that through a teenage infatuation with The Psychedelic Furs and Duran fucking Duran. Honestly, it’s all over the place and I mean that as a compliment. It feels like the masterpiece of the 1980’s that never actually happened. It’s a sensual, exciting, sexual, tantalizing, thought provoking and highly rewarding album that gives more to you with each and every listen.
Not only is this one of the albums of the year, I can honestly say I think it’s one of the best albums I’ve ever heard. It’s astonishing, in the true sense of the word. It takes my breath away. It makes me hot under the collar, it intoxicates me and I want you all to fall under its spell, as I have done. Nothing else like this will be released this year. (easy now, what about Gul Night Out? – ed)
If you pledged to fund this album, then may you be carried from the room at shoulder height. You’ve helped bring something truly extraordinary into the world and you should be proud of yourselves. More power to you, and to Amanda Palmer of course. Theatre Is Evil throws down a marker to almost everybody else working in music today.
Beat this, if you can.