Abnormally Attracted to Sin
| Tori Amos
Abnormally Attracted to Sin
Abnormally Attracted to Sin is the tenth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos, released 19 May 2009, in standard and limited CD/DVD edition. The album debuted on Billboard 200 at no. 9, giving Amos her seventh Top 10 album in the US. Unlike Amos' previous releases since 2000, which drew upon various external sources such as feminism, religion and politics, the album is considered a mainly personal album.-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
Show All-
Consequence of Sound
On a track-by-track basis, Amos is releasing some daring music. But you can’t help but wish she’d listen to The Decemberists’ Hazards of Love or St. Vincent’s Actor to see the merit of releasing taut but dynamic albums in 2009.
-
Drowned In Sound
Occasionally vague, sometimes incohesive and a little self-indulgent it may be, but ultimately Abnormally Attracted to Sin is an abnormally attractive piece of work, and another fine example of the shining talent that is Tori Amos.
-
BBC
A bit of a meal to get through, with random styles zigzagging about.
-
Music OMH
Much of the music is good but not really very interesting; there’s not a huge amount of innovation on offer.
-
Rolling Stone
The result is a set of prog-inspired balladry with less bounce than her last disc.
-
AllMusic
Amos doesn't record as much as most artists, and it must be tempting to give fans everything she can, but in this case, it's hurt her a bit. Still there, are many tracks here worth adding to one's Amos shelf.
-
Star Tribune
"Abnormally Attracted to Sin" is rife with idiosyncrasies, but when the record hits the sweet slithery spot, as on the title track, the album's themes of temptation . . . simmer together with wit and heart.
-
The Coast
. . . Amos ratchets up the percussion and takes a truncated scarlet walk around the world, stopping in her adopted home of England, her birthplace in the Southern US, and her early career base, LA.
-
PopMatters
Amos’ enterprise is an extraordinary machine. Each new project brings a rigorous new set of restraints and challenges, and the patented “Amos formula” has yet again been re-worked with her newest venture, Abnormally Attracted to Sin. With her first independent record . . . , Amos pushes the role of “sonic character actress” even further, with a unique, noirish visual component.
-
EW
Exploring themes of religious and carnal power on Abnormally Attracted to Sin, she’s heavy-breathing about blood and wine and saints and getting down on her knees (for nonsaintly reasons), . . .
-
HoustonPress
Abnormally is the most cohesive album Amos has released in years; indeed, it seems to be the first one since Venus for which she has not felt the need to invent even one alternate persona.
-
Polari Magazine
If control, pain and masculinity are the subjects that thematically thread Abnormally Attracted to Sin into a whole, then it is the use of sound, which binds it aurally. . . . It is another epic achievement from Tori Amos, who is still fresh, interesting and original after twenty years of making records.
-
Channel24
The music fuels the non-stop erotic cabaret from the outset as the opening salvo "Give" blasts Tori's post-Siouxsie siren call over sex-drenched bass stomps and booty-haunting trip house-y keyboard swathes. And it gets better.
-
MusicMP3.RU
The songs by Amos have become more tender and mild – it is a collection of piercing yet romantically soft ballads. Well, at least half of these songs are worth including into your regular play list, if you are fond of qualitative vocals, beautiful melodies and elaborated arrangements.
-
Billboard
With the release of her first album for Universal Republic, "Abnormally Attracted to Sin," out May 19, Amos tackles yet another thorny subject: women and power.
-
World Cafe
Abnormally Attracted To Sin, the tenth studio album from Tori Amos is a sprawling, ambitious effort plentiful in its results. The seventeen song collection is clearly a creative outpouring that is seemingly unrestrained by any theme or narrative.
-
SLANT Magazine
But even with its bloated running time, Sin is more thematically satisfying and sonically adventurous than anything Amos has recorded in years.
-
Pon De Way Way Way
. . . Abnormally Attracted To Sin fails to be much better than its two predecessors – it firmly sits in this career lull that Tori has only recently pulled herself out of.
-
PopDose
As disappointed as I am in this album, I don't dislike it entirely. I know she's capable of releasing another amazing, consistent, beautiful record and I am rooting for her to do so. This just isn't that record.
-
Record Collector
The flamehaired minister’s daughter treads a worthy but, it has to be said, well-worn path here: many of the 18 track titles . . . seem lifted from earlier albums. On the plus side, however, with its dark, charged atmosphere and cohesion, AATS sees Tori on slick and simmering form.
-
AV Club
Thankfully, on Abnormally Attracted To Sin, she again has worthwhile music to accompany her eclectic ideas.
-
didohotep
"Abnormally Attracted To Sin" will definitely find no place in Amos' top three best albums and is no crucial add to the singer-songwriter genre as a whole. What's more a singer like Bat for Lashes came up with a more quality album, which despite being genuinely inspired by Tori's work has much more variety to offer than Amos herself.
-
Fat Clown
Amos pieced together the best of what she’d done over the past 11-12 years and put it all into one fantastic package that’s instantly accessible but also revealing of greater depth upon examination. And for those still paying attention, that’s more than enough.
-
SPIN
Unfortunately, these hook-starved arrangements tend toward a static brand of ambient cabaret, which makes Amos’ lyrics easy to tune out. Too many little earthquakes, not enough seismic jolts.
-
Undented
We’ll probably never know why Amos has grown to insist upon her recent work trying to be everything to everyone, but Abnormally Attracted To Sin is easily her most uneven listening experience.
-
jwadeg
All in all, I think I’m happier with this than the last one, though it suffers from much the same problems. I hope that next time Tori really sits down with a pruning knife and puts out only her best work, as she’s quite clearly still capable of putting out a spectacular album.
-
Heather Dyan
This album is good, not great. And, believe me, Tori is capable of greatness.
-
De Krenten uit de pop
Tori Amos cannot be amazed with Abnormally Attracted To Sin like she once did with Little Earthquakes, but with this new record she proves that she is still able to write songs that stand out from the competition. Anyone who expects a record from Tori Amos that wipes the floor with Little Earthquakes and will cause a real shockwave, better give up hope.
-
Apple Music
Here as always vocalist/pianist/songwriter Tori Amos presents her singular creative voice with impressive attention to lyrical narrative.
-
ProgArchives
So for early fans who "gave up" on Tori at any point after Choirgirl, "Abnormally Attracted to Sin" is a great opportunity to dip your toe again and find out what Tori is up to these days. If you enjoyed her Choirgirl and Venus eras, you should also enjoy this.
-
The Digital Fix
Abnormally Attracted to Sin . . . is a landmark moment then, the culmination of so much hard work from a woman who has provided me - and a devoted fanbase - with more sonic enjoyment than any other artist.
-
WXPN
Abnormally Attracted To Sin, the tenth studio album from Tori Amos is a sprawling, ambitious effort plentiful in its results. The seventeen song collection is clearly a creative outpouring that is seemingly unrestrained by any theme or narrative.
-
The Skinny
Abnormally Attracted To Sin is a collection of typically seamless excellence. There are plenty of dark, electronic beats involved this time around, but the album manages this without the usual pitfall of becoming cold and impersonal. Indeed there are songs on display that rank right up there with Amos's best, .
-
Cleveland Scene
On her 10th album, alt-rock's fiery-haired pianist continues to make great music with her usual muses — religion, love, death and femininity.
-
entertainment.ie
. . . 'Abnormally Attracted to Sin' is a reasonably good effort. Perhaps she'll never surpass the quality of her early material, but there are songs here that at least attempt to equal it: . . . .
-
Musical Discoveries
The new album is instrumented similarly to To Venus And Back, which alongside Scarlet's Walk, is a favorite. The production is daring, taking a giant step beyond American Doll Posse. She incorporates so much on this release. Little intricacies are revealed with each listen.
-
Wears The Trousers
We’ll probably never know why Amos has grown to insist upon her recent work trying to be everything to everyone, but Abnormally Attracted To Sin is easily her most uneven listening experience.
-
Babyblaue-Seiten
The album "Abnormally Attracted To Sin" is a must if you like the music of the Tori Amos. And this music always has its strong moments when it represents a composition, a unit, her voice in connection with the piano. And there are moments on the album, although not in abundance. However, the record also contains a lot of average in the form of songs that no longer get stuck or more sustainable. What remains is an average album in the American discography.
-
Bleistiftrocker.de
Maybe “Abnormally Attracted To Sin” would have done better to have fewer songs. Because in the long run it will be difficult to be able to follow Tori Amos' entangled world of thoughts.
-
The San Diego Union-Tribune
“Abnormally Attracted to Sin” is not one of the singer-songwriter’s most dynamic works, but like Everything Tori, it’s passionate, dramatic (sometimes melodramatic) and frequently intense.
-
We Heart Music
If you're a Tori fan, you've already bought the album, so I'm not sure what else I can say about it to non-fans. It's pretty much what you would expect from a girl and her piano, but with a lot more synth and guitar. If you've never liked Tori Amos, chances are, you're not going to like the new album.
-
Prog Sphere
‘Abnormally Attracted To Sin’ might be a little overindulgent as the title suggests, but this is quite a strong album from an undeniably talented woman. Anyone looking for intelligent and unique pop music would do well to check out the work of Tori Amos.
-
Write on Music
Tori Amos Satisfies With Abnormally Sinful New Album.
-
Metro Weekly
“Abnormally Attracted to Sin,” released in May 2009, is arguably the most stylistically diverse and adventurous album of Tori’s career. . . . An album that is due for a reassessment and a fresh listen by those who may have missed it upon its release, “Abnormally Attracted to Sin” should not be overlooked. It’s a strong addition to Tori’s already amazing catalog of work.
-
Adrian Denning Album Reviews
Tori signs with a new record label and unveils a mammoth eighteen track album running to over seventy minutes. There's no obvious concept this time out but that's all for the better.
-
Wilson & Alroy's Record Reviews
Sonically Amos doesn't break new ground, though there is more synth than usual ("Fire To Your Plain") and the orchestrated "That Guy" verges on Adult Contemporary. Well crafted throughout ("Curtain Call") but so melancholy I don't think I'll be spinning this as often as Doll Posse. (DBW)
Rate This Album and Leave Your Comments