An almost Lynch-ian, primarily spoken word fever dream of a record, I Can Spin a Rainbow finds Amanda Palmer teaming up with childhood hero and Legendary Pink Dots co-founder Edward Ka-Spel for a trip down the rabbit hole.
The mercurial Dresden Dolls bandleader and street theater performer has rarely sounded this subdued, but her hushed cadence is simpatico with Spel's whispery vocals and fractured electronics, and it's in that mutual admiration that I Can Spin a Rainbow casts its spell.
More of an art project than a collection of songs, the-nine track set is a thicket of sound in which elusive melodies seek vanished harbors and twisted characters deliver surreal narrations, both spoken and sung.
It's also a mostly somber affair, and one that's nearly devoid of any hooks, which may put off some listeners hoping for a proper mash-up of Palmer's dark cabaret pop and LPD's neo-psychedelic post-punk.
At best, I Can Spin a Rainbow feels like the work of two talented artists savoring a long weekend of boundless creativity together, but from an outsider's perspective, the results are a bit too impenetrable to contextualize without having been in the room to witness its genesis.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pulp Fiction | Edward Ka-Spel, Amanda Palmer | Play | 06:04 | 13 MB | 36 MB |
| 2 | Shahla's Missing Page | Edward Ka-Spel, Amanda Palmer | Play | 05:08 | 11 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | The Shock of Kontakt | Edward Ka-Spel, Amanda Palmer | Play | 07:15 | 16 MB | 40 MB |
| 4 | Beyond the Beach | Edward Ka-Spel, Amanda Palmer | Play | 02:50 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 5 | The Clock at the End of the Cage | Edward Ka-Spel, Amanda Palmer | Play | 04:51 | 11 MB | 26 MB |
| 6 | The Changing Room | Edward Ka-Spel, Amanda Palmer | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | The Jack of Hands | Edward Ka-Spel, Amanda Palmer | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 8 | Prithee/Liquidation Day | Edward Ka-Spel, Amanda Palmer | Play | 09:39 | 22 MB | 47 MB |
| 9 | Rainbow's End | Edward Ka-Spel, Amanda Palmer | Play | 07:10 | 16 MB | 43 MB |
| 50 mins | 116 MB | |||||
| 50 mins | 279 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viki Beshparova | Photography |
| 2 | Judith Clute | Artwork |
| 3 | Edward Ka-Spel | Instrumentation, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 4 | Alexis Michallek | Singing Saw |
| 5 | Amanda Palmer | Instrumentation, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 6 | Ray Steeg | Mastering |
| 7 | Peter Van Vliet | Mastering |
| 8 | Patrick Q. Wright | Violin |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |