On her 10th album, alt-rock’s fiery-haired pianist continues to make
great music with her usual muses — religion, love, death and
femininity. The 17 songs on Abnormally Attracted to Sin are
boilerplate Amos and sound like the smart but difficult children of
Kate Bush, Patti Smith and Laura Nyro. Compared to 2007’s high-concept
album American Doll Posse (which had 23 songs interpreted
through five different alter-egos based on goddesses from Greek and
Roman mythology), this record focuses more on concrete music than
grandiose ideas.
The sound continues to evolve too. While American Doll Posse sounded like a free spirit trying to capture the America rock
experience from various vantage points (in sound and politics),
Abnormally Attracted to Sin is a brooding English affair (Amos
has dual citizenship with her husband and sound engineer Mark Hawley).
She sounds like a street urchin treating her demons to the gritty
downtempo production of Massive Attack. “Give,” “Strong Black Vine” and
“Police Me” are nocturnal trip-hop tracks that recall the electronic
feel of 1999’s To Venus and Back. These ominous anthems are
balanced by eclectic Amos-safe piano-pop tunes like the love ballad
“500 Miles.” For those who enjoy her more eccentric side, pick up the
deluxe version of Abnormally Attracted to Sin with an
accompanying DVD, which includes interlocking films that bring to life
the visual narratives of each track. — Keith Gribbins
This article appears in May 20-26, 2009.
