Tori Amos: Abnormally Attracted To Sin

Tori Amos is rarely short on ideas: On 2007’s American Doll Posse, she took on the personas of five feminine gods from Greek and Roman mythology. But she’s spent the past five years in a songwriting dry spell that no novelty could mask. Thankfully, on Abnormally Attracted To Sin, she again has worthwhile music to accompany her eclectic ideas. Perhaps the switch to a new label got the creative juices going again, but there’s a general feeling of invigoration across the album, with stylistically varied songs running from quirky pop (the bouncy-catchy “500 Miles”) to chilly, slow piano numbers (the haunting “Flavor”) to electronic funk (the off-tempo “Police Me”). The big problem: Abnormally Attracted To Sin is 17 tracks long, and a lot of it could have been left on the cutting-room floor. Some of her rock experiments (“Welcome To England”) seem like they’d be better songs if performed by actual rock bands, while her foray into the trippier side of things (“Give”) ends up hollow and lifeless. By the time the record ends with the tiresome epic “Lady In Blue,” online purchasers will be dragging half a dozen of the tracks into their recycle bin. The remaining 10 or so songs are a reasonably memorable, inspired collection that would have made a pretty great album by themselves.