It seems like forever ago when Tori Amos announced her upcoming album, Native Invader. These days, artists seem to announce their new albums within just a month or two of their release. In this case, it was April 24 when Amos dropped the news. That was a long three months ago, and even then a five month eternity before the album’s September 8 release date.
[UPDATE 9/9: Be sure to check out my full album review. Click Here.]
But as they say, good things come to those who wait. This week, Tori Amos finally shared more details about the album, including the full track list (see below) and the first single from the album, “Cloud Riders.” Give it a listen right now. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
(Waiting…)
OK, so… what did you think?
I’ll say I was surprised the first song Tori chose to share was completely absent of piano, although it’s likely she’s at the keyboard of the organ heard in the background. “Cloud Riders” is a mellow, guitar driven song. The Abbey Road era Beatle-esque vibe in both the guitar sound and the melody were unusual for a Tori Amos song. In fact, if you dropped off her vocals, you’d probably never guess the artist behind the music.
When I first wrote about the upcoming album from my perspective as a fan for nearly 25 years, I mentioned how my passion for her music had cooled over the years. I was looking forward to the new album, but admittedly in more of an obligatory way than a genuinely excited way. And that’s really too bad, because I want to be excited about new music from someone who was once one of my favorite artists.
Listening to this first song, though, I find myself drawn into her sound more than I expected to be. It sparked something familiar inside me while at the same time feeling refreshingly new and unexpected. Now, I want to hear more. I genuinely want to hear more. I’m happy to be able to say that.
So it’s going to feel like a long 43 days until we can all get the full Native Invader experience. You can pre-order the album here. Meanwhile, here’s the full track list:
01. Reindeer King
02. Wings
03. Broken Arrow
04. Cloud Riders
05. Up The Creek
06. Breakaway
07. Wildwood
08. Chocolate Song
09. Bang
10. Climb
11. Bats
12. Benjamin
13. Mary’s Eyes
14. Upside Down 2
15. Russia
Tracks 14 and 15 are exclusive to the deluxe edition, which… come on, why would you buy anything else? Die hard fans should be most intrigued by “Upside Down 2,” which appears to be some kind of sequel to Little Earthquakes era b-side “Upside Down.” That’s been a fan favorite for decades! (It was on that album’s first single.) Forgive me if I skip right to that song when the album arrives.
See there? I’m getting excited!
