Tori Amos
Unrepentant Geraldines
Alright, so I don't know what that title means, and the cover of this album looks like something Gwyneth Paltrow would post on Instagram, but people keep telling me Tori Amos is a genius, so I'll give Unrepentant Geraldines a go.
*Just over an hour later*
Ok. This is what Kate Bush would sound like if she were any good. Amos' voice is like a cross between her, Dido and Joanna Newsom (and comparing anyone to Newsom is a pretty huge complement in my book); on "16 Shades of Blue" she demomstrates that she can combine bile with melodicism as well as Jarvis Cocker, if not better; on "Weatherman" she displays a poet's gift for language, and an ability to make any line scan that most songwriters would kill for; throughtout the album - alongside the aforementioned - there are flashes of early Bowie, Circulus, Baydelaire, Rhianna, Transformer-era Lou Reed and more, but Amos never once sounds derivative. Every note and every lyric is unmistakably hers, and if you're not hooked by the third song, there's something wrong with you.
My one criticism of this album is that at times the production is a bit flat. "Promise" is a fantastic song both lyrically and melodically, but the arrangement takes the lustre out of it, making it sound a bit too dull. That's a problem common to the slower moments on Unrepentant Geraldines, and it could ruin a lesser record, but thanks to Amos' way with words and her fantastic ear for melody that's never a danger. The most boring moment of this record is more interesting and engaging than the vast majority of music out there. I am officially a Tori Amos fan now.
Rating: 9/10
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