In the six long years since ex-Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer last released a solo album, society has changed massively. It won’t come as a surprise to Palmer’s fans that this global shake-up has inspired her to be more honest than ever. Crammed with confessional tunes that stir the soul, these hard-hitting tracks about grief, cancer, miscarriage and abortion pack a bigger punch than Conor McGregor.

Recorded in just one month, There Will Be No Intermission is the album Palmer was born to make. Adopting a similar approach to Therapy?’s Infernal Love, the record is comprised of ten songs interspersed with interludes. Doffing a cap to Bill Hicks, ‘The Ride’ is a wonderfully raw, piano-based rumination on the mysteries of life; and chamber-pop number ‘The Thing About Things’ is staggeringly beautiful. The synth-driven ‘Drowning In Sound’, meanwhile, is destined to go down a storm live.

The musical equivalent of a book you can’t put down, There Will Be No Intermission is an utter triumph.

Out now via Cooking Vinyl.