Review: Tori Amos, "Abnormally Attracted to Sin"

REVIEW: Abnormally Attracted to Sin, Tori Amos

Tori's latest studio album--her first as an independent artist--is certainly not her worst, but it is unmistakably flawed.

The eighteen-track offering would benefit from a heavy dose of thoughtful editing and cohesive production. The sound is all-over-the-place, and the theme of "sin" barely keeps the mesh together. "Fire to Your Plain" sounds stripped straight from Scarlet's Walk, while the next track, "Police Me," jumps straight into American Doll Posse territory. Sin has an identity crisis--it tries to be everything and fails.

Despite the schizo track selection, pieces such as the single "Welcome to England" and first track "Give" keep the album a far-from-lost cause. "Give" hearkens to my favorite side of Tori--the one that plays the piano like its filthy--and kicks the album off on a dark, moody tone. Meanwhile, "Welcome to England" is what Tori should be doing in 2009. The song explores a forward-focused play on production, lyrics, and Tori's unmistakable piano.

I will give the woman credit for her ballsiness. She took the opportunity to take chances--just not all of them worked out. For example, much of this album finds Tori flirting the line between pop and pop. A few pieces fall on the right side of the line--"That Guy," "Fast Horse" and "Fire to Your Plain." Others don't quite make it, as heard in "Not Dying Today" and the drab "500 Miles." And still others haunt my sleep by straddling the distinction precariously (see: "Police Me").

Tori also plays with headier, more ethereal tones throughout. Sometimes it works ("Starling," "Flavor"), sometimes it doesn't ("Abnormally Attracted to Sin"), and sometimes I'm just confused about life in general ("Lady in Blue").

Unfortunately, the songs that play it safe stay under the radar. "Curtain Call" and "Ophelia," two piano-driven tracks, seem to fade to the back of the playlist. However, "Maybe California" shows that Tori still hasn't lost her ability to make the piano/lyrics combo hit like a ton of bricks.

Basically: There are a lot of freaking songs on this album. Yeah, more than I've mentioned here. Overall, I feel satisfied knowing I can savor the choice parcels of Sin and just throw out the rest. Could it have been better? Absolutely. Now, excuse me, I'm going to go listen to "Fast Horse" again.

Grade: B