''Native Invader'' is the fifteenth studio album (twelfth of entirely original material) by American singer-songwriter

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

. It was released on September 8, 2017, through

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

. Its lead single " Cloud Riders", was released on July 27, 2017.

Background

Amos contributed the song "Flicker" for

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

documentary film '' Audrie & Daisy''s ending credits. In a ''Billboard'' interview, Amos was asked about future plans, revealing there will be "another album next year. We're in beginning stages and it might be a very different record beginning Nov. 9, but let's see where we're going." On April 18, Amos began a five-day countdown with a series of

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

posts depicting a studio and a "sacred fire". On the fifth day, the news was revealed to be a brand new album and world tour.

Inspiration

In her fan newsletter, it states in Summer 2016, Amos took a road trip through

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, ...

with intention to reconnect with the stories of her mother's family. That winter, her mother suffered a stroke. With that and the 2016 United States election, the album took a different direction. Amos states, "It wasn't going to be a record of pain, blood and bone when I began. It wasn't going to be a record of division... I listened and watched the conflicts that were traumatizing the nation and roteabout those raw emotions." Regarding writing the songs, Amos has said that " ere's an intake and an outtake period. That's when I'm finding works. So there was a deluge for ''Native Invader'' after quite a while of waiting for the muses to come. And then once things aligned and there was enough pressure

rom Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

what was going on in the world and what happened to Mary, then all of a sudden, it's kismet and it all lined up. Now, it doesn't always work like that where it comes as a rush where I'm working on 7 songs at a time but that's what started to happen and you start filing really quickly and go 'Oh, you're not a part of this structure are you. Oh, no you are! You’re a "Reindeer King"! You're three different songs at once!'" A major source of inspiration for the album was Amos' belief that her white Appalachian ancestors from North Carolina and Tennessee were of

Cherokee descent Individuals with some degree of documented Cherokee descent who do not meet the criteria for Cherokee tribal citizenship may describe themselves as "being of Cherokee descent" or as "being a Cherokee descendant". These terms are also used by non-Na ...

. During her trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, Amos acknowledged that she had Confederate ancestors. Both Tori Amos and her sister Dr. Marie Amos Dobyns have claimed Eastern Cherokee heritage and her sister has created ties with Native American organizations, such as by joining the Association of American Indian Physicians, an organization that allows people to join based on self-identification as Native Americans. While the album incorporates Native American themes, Tori Amos stated that she is an "observer" of Native American culture who is "not in a position to speak for First Nations people– that’s a sacred task."

Critical reception

''Native Invader'' was well-received from music critics upon release. The album received a score of 76 out of 100 on the review aggregator website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Reviewing the album for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Neil Z. Yeung wrote, "''Native Invader'' stands tall with its own vital voice and energy, alluding to beloved touchstones from throughout Amos' oeuvre while remaining fully of its time." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' rated the album positively, claiming that " mos'intricately arranged songs are passionate and despairingly poetic."

Native Invader Tour

To promote the album, Amos embarked on the Native Invader Tour across Europe and North America. The tour began on September 6, 2017, in Cork, Ireland and concluded on December 3 in Los Angeles, California. Regarding Amos duetting live with her daughter Tash, "I don't think on this tour but ..in the not so long future. ..t is one of those things again that kind of has to be something we work up and rehearse."

Track listing

Personnel

–

Bösendorfer Bösendorfer (L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH) is an Austrian piano manufacturer and, since 2008, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation. Bösendorfer is unusual in that it produces Imperial Bösendorfer, 97- and 92-Key (instrument) ...

piano,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, keyboards, vocals, programming, additional instrumentation *Mac Aladdin – guitar * John Philip Shenale – synth programming, additional keyboards (tracks 1 and 13) *Mark Hawley – programming, additional instrumentation *Tash – vocals (track 5)

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2017 albums Appalachian music Cherokee in popular culture Decca Records albums Tori Amos albums