Boys for Pele is an album to remember. A major change from her first two albums – Little Earthquake and its follow up, Under the Pink – Boys is a massive emotional undertaking. To bring you up to speed, Tori Amos had a messy break-up and she decided to write songs about it – the best thing, in my opinion.

There are two parts in Boys for Pele: the really-pissed-off part and the moving-on-but-still-really-pissed-off half. The album starts off with the really-pissed-off part and eventually works itself into acceptance – though not without pangs of heartbreak. An amazing emotional epic, Boys will be understood and appreciated by all, from Pele’s – a Hawaiian volcano goddess’ – eruption, its casualties, its cooling, and finally its containment as a twinkle.

Tori Amos used the rawness of heartache to her advantage, and boy does it hurt. It’s like an open wound that itches; two stubborn things: your wound and you. Your wound won’t close. You keep scratching.

Like many, I feel that the first half of Boys for Pele is more accessible than the second half. It makes sense though – heartbreak is universal, emotional healing is more abstract and difficult to achieve. The question is, do you want to listen to emotional torment or attempts at emotional healing? Either way, I beg you – and I beg you kneeling with clasped hands – to listen to this. It will take a few spins but by god! this album is the best. It’s a perfect storm, an idealized emotional epic that always inches me into its depths, making me yearn to experience it myself. Contented or depressed, I always find reasons to reach for this album. I will never stop consuming this album. Moving on has never been so difficult.

Listen to (if I really had to choose) : Blood Roses, Professional Widow, Mr. Zebra, Hey Jupiter, Way Down, In the Springtime of His Voodoo, Putting the Damage On, Twinkle

This is an incredibly personal album. It forces you to look at the darkest parts of yourself and of Tori. The lyrical composition is very emotional and very raw. I don’t think Tori edited herself at all when writing these songs and I definitely think this is a positive thing. Though at times her lyrics make no literal sense, they carry a great deal of depth and emotion. She is letting everything out and it acts as catharsis for both the singer and the listener.

I also enjoyed and admired the fact that a pop album could not only contain Tori’s very unique lyrics but instruments that you rarely here in modern songs, such as brass horns and the harpsichord. I didn’t think I’d ever hear a harpsichord outside of an Emilie Autumn album.

The highest points of the album were definitely “Blood Roses”, “Father Lucifer” and “Hey Jupiter”. Admittedly, I did not enjoy the second half of the album nearly as much as the first half.

This album is a living testament to not only Tori’s undeniable talent but her complex personality and emotions. I think everyone, especially women, should listen to this album and think about themselves.