I think it’s pretty safe to say that 2020’s worldwide lockdowns were no fun at all. We all found ways to deal with the loneliness and isolation we were suddenly faced with. Tori Amos has been performing live music since she was 13 years old, so the sudden isolation of the UK restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic was especially hard. For many people who have spent their lives surrounded by people, traveling and performing, the lockdowns were a struggle. Tori Amos was no exception.
As Amos sank into one of the lowest points of her life emotionally, she turned to her music. The result; Ocean to Ocean which is her first studio album since 2017, bursting with introspective, personal and creative melodies that reach into the soul. The variety of themes and arrangements are new, yet old. Typically splitting her time between the US and UK, Amos infuses this album with notes full of memories of both. From the southwest feel of “Devil’s Bane”, with its notable dobro melody. The ethereal, English feel of “Metal Water Wood” fits with the struggles and support vividly displayed in the lyrics. It opens with “You found me, You found me; Burning, burning in despair. You said then, ‘I know, Dear’ ‘It has been a brutal year’. Later, the affirmation “…You tell me ‘Be like water’. Knowing how healing salt water can be, this line speaks volumes to anyone who struggles with the mental aspects the pandemic has brought.
Amos sings of her roller coaster of emotions while weaving a musical landscape of varying styles and themes, that draw you in. In my years of listening to her music, this album brings me back to the beginning, in terms of personal introspection and emotion. If anything good can come out of the pandemic, I think it may just be the creative depths it created in people. This album is a perfect example. Tori Amos just showed us one way to tackle the emotional demons, and win with flying colors.
I’m Music Magazine Photographer/Writer Michele Hancock
