Tori Amos

Tori Amos sings as five alter egos (including one named Tori) in this concept album. This approach lets us hear all of the varying phases Amos has traveled through in her eclectic career. The character Pip actually sounds a little like pre-fame Tori circa “The Big Picture.” “Bouncing Off the Clouds” and “Secret Spell” are Amos in a fun, jaunty mode, while “Almost Rosey” and the beautiful “Girl Disappearing” represent her at her most meditative. As far as the politics of the thing, let’s just say she doesn’t like the president, and we’ll leave it at that. The “concept” approach calls for some short transitional songs, including one called “Programmable Soda,” which is about what the title implies. Amos hasn’t been this consistently melodic since Little Earthquakes.