Art pop rock icon and piano prodigy Tori Amos is back with her eighteenth studio album ‘In Times of Dragons’. The album’s background is that of a metaphorical fairytale set in the present day; with the fictionized version of Tori as a heroine fighting the ‘dragons’ in power that are burning down democracy and our normal way of life. Her raw mezzo-soprano vocal range gives a sound somewhere in the range of Kate Bush, Björk, and Madonna.
The first track ‘Shush’ references Donald Trump’s constant women-silencing remarks, billionaire Peter Thiel’s outspoken belief of “the incompatibility of democracy and freedom” and her own past works pondering her own worth over an almost Phantom of the Opera-style gothic piano ballad. The title track of the album is next, detailing the fight between the heroine and these dragons, now likened to a past lover. Tori questions her involvement, knowing she helped bring forth the very chaos she now fights against with her fictional role of a dragon’s wife.
The next track ‘Provincetown’ makes a lighthearted and upbeat heel turn; the heroine now visiting the Cape Cod city popular among the LGBTQ+ community, reaching out to her longsuffering allies for support in her fight telling her to find her daughter and ‘The Gasoline Girls’. ‘St. Teresa’ dives into folksy electronic territory with a ballad to the late hallowed nun Mother Teresa, asking her for guidance on her journey.
‘The Gasoline Girls’ describes the ones mentioned in ‘Provincetown’, a lesbian biker gang who help Tori find her voice and visibility showing strength and resilience. Tori said this track symbolizes moving from one stage of being into another; girlhood into womanhood, heteronormativity to gender expansion, or even motherhood to menopause. ‘Ode To Minnesota’ praises the state for its righteous resistance against Trump, ICE, despite civilian murders and freezing cold temperatures.
‘Fanny Faudrey’ goes on a whimsical almost children’s songlike tangent about a feminist on the run, breaking the otherwise dark overtone of the album. ‘Veins’ dives right back in with a conversation between Tori and her daughter first meeting, explaining that she didn’t want her to know of her dragon-like origins, thinking that her own fate may be sealed, since one can’t run from their true self.
‘Strawberry Moon’ has Tori crooning her melancholy woes of loss and confusion to the Moon, to nature over an otherworldly ballad. Of course, the celebrated Strawberry Moon represents renewal, growth, alignment, and reflection. ‘Song of Sorrow’ is a sweeping orchestral ballad encouraging Tori to sing of her sadness to restore her sprits. ‘Flood’ follows the orchestral theme and showcases how love can overtake all, drowning all else in the process. ‘Pyrite’ then whiplashes us back into an upbeat update on the heroine’s journey, with fool’s gold smoldering inside of her. Meeting a high priestess and vampire, she must travel to Kansas to meet a medicine man. ‘Tempest’ goes into musically explosive territory with Tori caught in a cortisol spiking storm that looks to overcome her, with St. Cecelia – the patron saint of music – reminding her of her power and voice with the Gasoline Girls coming to save her in the nick of time, who unfortrunately can’t continue on with Tori on her journey.
‘Angelshark’ is a tribal themed conversation between Tori and the medicine man asking why those like her who choose love over power are so rare and endangered, like angelsharks. He responds that her medicine, and answers, lie in the ‘23 Peaks’. ‘Blue Lotus’ slowly draws toward a psychedelic train of thought, swearing that Tori won’t be burned at the stake like the witch she’s been accused of being, seeing if peace would rather be found in the waters underneath the lotus.
‘Stronger Together’ has Tori boldly talking to her daughter about their shared struggles in losing rights, and feeling defeated. But the power that lies in unity and the greater message of female bonding is pertinent throughout. The cinematic final track ’23 Peaks’ starts with an angelic orchestral wash and blustery mountain air finding Tori among the dragons in the 23 peaks, begging them to remove the dragon side of herself. Their only response is that while they can, it’ll only return and her only choice is to accept her fate as a future dragon queen.
This album is the perfect combination of reality and whimsy for today’s times. It blends hard topics with fantastical storytelling and emotional instrumentation. Amo’s signature trinity of women’s liberation, sexual expression, and faith are ever present over a clever tapestry for the ages. Beautiful, biting, raw, and fiery. A triumph!
9/10
