Tori Amos’ 10th studio album (and first under Universal) isn’t nearly as gimmicky as 2007’s American Doll Posse, but it’s also not as interesting or sonically inventive. That’s not to say that Tori hasn’t made another consistently good record. It’s very similar in tone and theme to 2005’s The Beekeeper, but it grounds itself in a much different reality. Whereas that album was centered in the quasi-spiritual, jazzy tones of the Hammond B3, AATS finds a more earth-bound Tori back at her piano. She’s looking up at the sky instead of sideways at it.
The album opens with the hypnotic “Give”, a serpentine track built on a simple but alluring synth pattern and Tori’s searching, seductive vocal. It flows into the album’s first single, “Welcome To England”, a solid piece of well-orchestrated alt-pop. “Strong Black Vine” marries insistent, tense strings with electric guitars, while “Flavor” is spacey, late night ambience. Like that track, most of the album leans toward the quiet, mellow side of Tori’s range. The main exception is the anomalous, but welcome and (gasp) playful “Not Dying Today.”
The slower energy of the album sometimes works very well, such as in the lush, orchestral noir of “That Guy” and “Lady In Blue” or the sinuous and shadowy title track. However, too many tracks drag the easy momentum of the album from a slow gait to a near halt. “Maybe California” circles around itself without ever landing, the electronic accents on “Starling” don’t add anything to the track’s monochromatic sound, and “Ophelia” simply doesn’t connect well. In fact, those tracks almost make you forget tracks like the tongue-in-cheek cabaret of “Mary Jane” or the slow, shifting grind of “Police Me.”
The main problem with the album is that most of these tracks seem too similar to Tori’s past works. It’s something more noticeable to a Tori fan, probably less to a casual listener. Tracks like “Curtain Call”, “Fast Horse”, and “500 Miles” are nice, but they sound like lost tracks from Scarlet’s Walk, an album which suffered from a bit of redundancy itself. That’s another problem Tori’s had as of late. Starting with Scarlet, she’s felt the need to max out her albums. They tend to contain at least 4 or 5 songs too many, as if Tori felt the need to max out the CD’s capacity. In all cases, her albums would be tighter and much more consistent if they were trimmed down by about 20 minutes.
Tori doesn’t do anything innovative on this album, but that’s OK. The production and arrangements are always solid, her vocals are confident, and the album has a very strong palette and identity. Long-time Tori fans will probably get more out of the album than non-fans, but there are enough instances of Tori reigning in her more obtuse muses to appeal to a more mainstream crowd.
6 out of 10 (B-)
