Tori's Enchanting Garden

I was excited to get my ears on Tori's latest album, "The Beekeeper," a luscious, 80 minute album made up of 19 songs divided into six "gardens" (inspired by the six-cells of a honeycomb). I was not disappointed. The songs on this album are lush and rhythmic. Listening to it, the songs speak to me of the relationship with the self and with others, happiness, death, growth (perhaps you'll hear other themes.)

My favorite song by far is "The Beekeeper," a rolling piece that isn't just a sonic but a tactile experience (this song has definitely touched me). "Goodbye Pieces" is a beautifully melodic song, which I feel is Tori's sweetest. Other standouts for me on this album are "Cars and Guitars," "Parasol," "Ireland," "Original Sinsuality," "Hoochie Woman," "Sleeps with Butterflies." (I might as well name the whole album.)

The way Tori uses with her voice on this album is different than her airy, "ah haaaah" of her earlier albums. She's grittier here at times, like in "Hoochie Woman" but then swoops around and is wonderfully angelic on "Ribbons Undone."

Like every album Tori has released, this one is a step forward, a growth, and maturity, different sonically and thematically than the one before. "Beekeeper" cannot be compared to "Little Earthquakes," or to "Scarlet's Walk." It is its own creature. Enjoy it and experience it for yourself.