Tori Amos : "In The Times of Dragons"

 

This is a concept album in which Tori uses allegory to convey a political message. Nothing new for her, but it's done in an even more deliberate fashion. "Shush" feels likea Nine Inch Nails ballad, another not surprising element when you consider the crossover in their respective fan bases. For 62, her voice has held up really well, though her feminist coded lyrics can't be taken all that seriously, given her Botox addiction, so we are just going to focus on the music. 18 albums in, we are not getting a ton of surprises as the opener carries the 90s brooding we might want from her. 

The title track gives her voice center stage. I always preferred how she works in the context of a band, though I prefer just a bass player and drummer to accompany her, rather than a guitar player crowding her, but it works on this song. "Provincetown" finds the drums giving her more momentum, and this sense of movement makes the song more effective, though Tori is no slouch on the melodies. She has a sweet spot where her voice sits in her alto range. So dynamically speaking, the vocals are not what they once were. But between her being a total pro and the production, she makes the msot of what she still has. 

In many ways, this album reminds me of "Under the Pink," though the instrumentation is more layered. Despite her vocals all sitting in the same place, she manages to make what she is doing keep working, as heard on "St. Teresa".  Though this also sounds like it could have come from Kate Bush's "Sensual World " album. She starts to reach up higher on "Gasoline Girls' which has too much skip in its steps and is the first song that sounds like filler as it does carry the "Cornflake Girl' type skip. "Ode to Minnesota' is more introspective, despite being more obviously about external stimuli. It feels like her brand of melancholy, so it works for me. "Fanny Faudrey" carries more of a ragtime swing to it.  This works better than "Gasoline Girls." 

"Veins" is darker, so I enjoy that; it drones with its own hypnotic flow. There is an interesting shift in the chorus. "Strawberry Moon" is one of her wandering ballads that still manages to hold itself together. The somber mood of "Song of Sorrow" works really well with where her voice is at and creates a subtle dynamic shift in the composition. "Flood" meanders a bit too much in its own ambiance. Then, at the other end of the spectrum, she is much more focused on "Pyrite." The drums work really well on this. "Tempest" finds her trademark flowing piano lines doing what you want her to do.  However, I think that "Angelshark" is a more interesting song. It's moodier and works of a droning beat that finds layers of piano added to. 

"Blue Lotus " is a little more laid back, though this is generally a pretty chill album even by Tori's standards. There is a cool piano, but her vocals lurk around the same style that has dominated the album.t "Stronger Together" finds her not budging much from the breathy alot that has been the centerpiece of her vocals on this album. It song does finds it's groove, which works well. The last song is almost just a wash of ambient sound that she is singing over. I will give this album a 9.5. This is a double album and she manages to be very consistent when it comes to songwriting, leaving little filler, so the sound of Tori aging gracefully and not  fading away.

 16.6