immortalcritic's Full Review: From the Choirgirl Hotel by Tori Amos
Americans loathe to admit their creepy facination with alternative , but add a rock n' roll tinge and you've got them sold. That may describe Bjork's appeal but Ms. Amos is another entity unto herself. As Tori fanatics will mostly be reading this i'll skip the bio and head in the songs themselves( what could i possibly tell you that you don't know already?)
For years her piano sound has sugar coated deep and disturbing songs but never have they sound so mournful and old. Old as in experienced,she clearly was still going through the nightmare of the miscarriage. We are therefore privvy to her pain 'cause she finds religious-like ectasy in it as well and no one mixes both like she can." She's convinced she could hold back a glacier/but she couldn't keep baby alive" goes a line from the opener "Spark". It's fraught with a type of fervour her stage shows are known for and you can just lose yourself in the moment, not even quite sure what else she's saying.Jewel could learn a thing or two from this song as its pitch is beyond her at this moment. "Cruel" leads off the new electronic fizzing that permeates the opus.It's more an experiment than an actual song, the atmospherics achieve a well paced momentum. But back to the pain."Playboy Mommy" is the harshest she gets on herself.The lyrics pound yet soothe at the same time."don't judge me so harsh little girl/so you got a playboy mommy/but when you tell 'em my name/and you want to cross/ that bridge all on your own/little girl they'll do you no harm". But the real precious moment is when she croons, "I'll be coming home/I'll be coming home " , towards the end. It's the personalisation of the moment and it is shattering to hear. Her music has been likened to theraphy to her fans so you guys know what i'm talking about.But grief eventually leads to nowhere and when she whispers, "I'm still alive/ I'm still alive" on "Hotel", it is her mantra.Her sense of adventure eventually wins her judgement over, even on the straight-laced "Jackie's Strenght". It's an elegant yet simply odd piano-based tune that displays her phenomenal natural ability.The following track "IIEEE", displays that haunting voice , soaring over decadent , mouldering lyrics.Then comes the rockers.The Grammy-nominated "Rasberry Swirl", thunders with electronica and her aggression about, um, well you know, sex. "If you want inside her /well, boy you got to make her rasberry swirl".It's delicious to say the least."She's Your Cocaine" is even more daring , describing acts on a criminally pleasurable kind. Devilish stuff this.
immortalcritic
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