Amanda Palmer, one-half of the acclaimed punk-cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls, was a big fan of the TV show "Twin Peaks," which pursued the answer to who killed homecoming queen Laura Palmer.

The short-lived but ground-breaking series revealed the killer by peeling away layers to reveal the true nature of Laura Palmer.

Amanda Palmer performs Dec. 8 at the Avalon Theater in a solo show that will further reveal who she is.

"I love surprising people and giving them more than they expect," Palmer said in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune.

The Dresden Dolls are on an amicable hiatus, so Palmer decided to make an album with songs and fragments that never fit into the orchestral nature of the unique duo. Her solo album, "Who Killed Amanda Palmer," is built largely around her weapons of choice -- the piano and intimate, often painful, lyrics.

"I was writing [songs] since I was 12, and didn't make my first record until I was 27," said Palmer, 32, who added that many of the songs were written more than a decade ago.

Palmer, who was friends with pop-pianist Ben Folds, was taken aback more than a year ago when he asked her if he could produce her nascent album. "He's such a genius I had no reservations about saying yes," she said. The result is an affecting record of beautiful ballads that straddle the line between 21st century avant-garde and pre-WWII Germanic cabaret, finding a perfect balance of whimsy and ache.

But when you take Palmer out of the Dresden Dolls, you can't take the Dresden Dolls out of Palmer, so she is following the theatrical tradition the duo included in their shows. An Australian performing troupe, The Danger Ensemble, is performing alongside Palmer and her piano.

"We're finding ways to pull elements of her songs and make them visual," said Steven Mitchell Wright, who directs the four-member troupe. Audiences "deserve" more than a standard stage show, he said, and it also helps Palmer make a connection with the audience.

"Our visions are very similar," Palmer said of Wright. "It's all about the connection, and it's not just about the music ... Following your impulses are the most rewarding parts of being an artist."

Palmer put much of her own money toward bringing the troupe on her world tour, saying she doesn't believe in money, just art. "I could just as easily just do a piano show," but it was "really important" to her to have the quartet join her, she said.

So, as you can see, no one is killing Amanda Palmer. "It's been a labor of love," she said of the dance-music partnership.