Newly-married bisexual musician Amanda Palmer has released the first single from her upcoming album, which is a 12-track tribute to New Zealand and Australia. The Boston-based cabaret-punk rocker has also announced a trans-Tasman tour to coincide with the release of Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under, the follow-up to her 2008 debut solo album Who Killed Amanda Palmer. The female half of the Dresden Dolls released the track listing for the new album, due out later this month, which includes such titles as New Zealand and Vegemite (The Black Death). The first single to be released is Map of Tasmania, which you can listen to here "This whole record is a love letter to Australia and New Zealand," Palmer says. "It was the first continent where Dresden Dolls landed and it was Beatlemania. I have a huge resonance with the place and the people. Plus I hate being cold." The album features collaborations with Dresden Doll bandmate Brian Viglione and English dance group The Young Punx, as well as covers of Nick Drake and Peter Jefferies. Palmer also teamed up with with Ben Folds and her new husband; author Neil Gaiman, to create a photography storybook to accompany the album. Palmer and Gaiman married in an impromptu ceremony on the weekend, with Palmer tweeting, "hey guess what we did last night (and this time it's legal). I wore the same wedding dress I used as a street performer for 5+ years. It was shredded…but it still worked." The American Gods and Coraline author wrote in his online journal, "Probably getting married in a friend's parlour, with a dozen friends around who weren't really expecting this but who threw themselves into making a wedding for us out of nothing, and a daughter and a son lending their support and love, isn't how everyone would plan a wedding. But we'd been engaged exactly a year, and it felt incredibly right to improvise a wedding as we went along. So we did it. And were as happy as any two people had ever been." The wedding picture Palmer put on Twitter Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under Tracklist: 01. Makin' Whoopee 02. Vegemite (The Black Death) 03. Australia 04. Map of Tasmania (feat. The Young Punx) 05. In My Mind (feat. Brian Viglione) 06. Bad Wine and Lemon Cake 07. New Zealand 08. On an Unknown Beach (Peter Jefferies cover) 09. We're Happy Little Vegemites (Vegemite jingle cover) 10. Doctor Oz 11. A Formidable Marinade 12. The Ship Song (Nick Cave cover) Amanda Palmer tour dates: WELLINGTON – feb 17 – Webstock (clinic) WELLINGTON – feb 18 – Webstock (concert) w/ Jason Webley WELLINGTON – feb 19 – Bodega CHRISTCHURCH – feb 22 – Al's Bar AUCKLAND – feb 23 – Kings Arms Tavern
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 6th January 2011 - 11:01am