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Unrepentant Geraldines Image
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 134 Ratings

  • Summary: The 14th studio release for the singer-songwriter is said to be a return to her piano-centric alternative pop/rock sound.
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Top Track

Promise
Tori: Promise not to say Tash: that you told me so Promise not to say Tori: that I'm getting too old Tash: Promise not to take Tori: never take your... See the rest of the song lyrics
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 19
  2. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. May 13, 2014
    91
    Despite the serious subject matter, Unrepentant Geraldines has a lightness--and even creative joy--that makes it a thoroughly enjoyable listen.
  2. 83
    Folks will either freak out over this album or abhor its very existence, and that is exactly what makes it so good.
  3. Jun 4, 2014
    80
    Unrepentant Geraldines has an irresistible lightness of touch about it: its charms initially seem modest next to the towers of ambition Amos has previously created, but the generosity of melody and sheer prettiness of the sound wins through in the end.
  4. May 13, 2014
    74
    Despite the nods to “Strawberry Fields Forever” on opener “America,” Unrepentant Geraldines bridles and bristles against the constraints of pop music.
  5. 70
    In the end, Unrepentant Geraldines goes far to re-establish the sense of intimacy that won Amos her audience’s unwavering devotion; there’s a level of honesty characterizing the project that should jibe well with them, and she’s in confident voice throughout without ever sounding canned or over-calculated.
  6. Under The Radar
    Jun 6, 2014
    60
    All the usual thematic motifs make an appearance, for good or ill. [Jun/Jul 2014, p.84]
  7. May 12, 2014
    50
    If Unrepentant Geraldines is indeed visual art, it's more of a polite Norman Rockwell than a vomit-stained Sherman. The former goes great with dinner, but I await the gastric upset of the latter.

See all 19 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 21
  3. Negative: 1 out of 21
  1. May 13, 2014
    10
    This is an absolutely amazing album and a total return to form for Tori, and the fans seem to be responding accordingly. She is back to makingThis is an absolutely amazing album and a total return to form for Tori, and the fans seem to be responding accordingly. She is back to making emotional and powerful songs from the heart. Despite her post-Scarlet's Walk albums being passable, this one takes her back to her brilliance of her old days. Long-time Tori fans won't be diss appointed, nor will new fans. Expand
  2. May 22, 2014
    10
    I am SO in love with this album. It ranks just under Little Earthquakes, Boys for Pele, and From the Choirgirl Hotel. I actually like itI am SO in love with this album. It ranks just under Little Earthquakes, Boys for Pele, and From the Choirgirl Hotel. I actually like it better than Under the Pink and Scarlett’s Walk. (and I LOVE those two albums very much)

    Promise (Tori’s duet with her daughter Tash) just makes me tear up. I can not stop listening.
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  3. Apr 30, 2016
    10
    This album is simply beautiful
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    This album is simply beautiful
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  4. Apr 18, 2015
    10
    Best album since Scarlet's Walk. The melodies harken back to the days of Little Earthquakes but there is also a maturity and honesty in theBest album since Scarlet's Walk. The melodies harken back to the days of Little Earthquakes but there is also a maturity and honesty in the lyrics that is just beautiful. Expand
  5. Jan 21, 2015
    9
    This album sounds like the old Tori we all know and love while still managing to sound fresh. She's really stripped down her music to the moreThis album sounds like the old Tori we all know and love while still managing to sound fresh. She's really stripped down her music to the more acoustic piano-driven style that suits her well. The lyrics are poetic yet not obtuse like some of her other stuff (Pele, for example), and her voice has never sounded sweeter. This is a thoroughly enjoyable album from start to finish, with a heartfelt melancholy vibe that really gets to me every time I listen to it.

    Personal Favorites: America, Weatherman, Promise, Unrepentant Geraldines, Oysters
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  6. May 13, 2014
    9
    This is a truly beautiful record. Closer in style to a blend of Under the Pink and Scarlet's Walk than the heavier, more production-heavy workThis is a truly beautiful record. Closer in style to a blend of Under the Pink and Scarlet's Walk than the heavier, more production-heavy work of American Doll Posse and Abnormally Attracted to Sin, the shift in sound should be welcomed for those who want to hear the voice and piano up front and centre. 'Wild Way' is her most gorgeous and heart-wrenching ballad since 'Northern Lad' - if it lacks the soaring musical grandeur of the latter, it more than makes up for it in intensity. 'Oysters' and 'Weatherman' also shine as highlights, as does the rollicking mini-epic title track. It starts off feeling like the good bits of The Beekeeper, soars through a Police-like mid-section and then breaks down into truly beautiful piano section that recalls 'Icicle' meshing with 'Ruby Through the Looking Glass.'

    The record isn't perfect... the Beatles-inspired 'Giant's Rolling Pin' is a pretty entertaining romp about surveillance culture, but it feels more like a fun B-side, and doesn't really fit well in situation. 'Promise', a duet with daughter Tash, is genuinely more endearing than mawkish (and Tash sings excellently) - but again, it doesn't gel especially well with the rest of the tracks. But these are very minor quibbles in the face of how exquisitely crafted the rest of the album feels. I'd equate it roughly to the way that 'She's Your Cocaine' and 'Raspberry Swirl' feel out of place on 'From the Choirgirl Hotel' - fine tracks, but not really in their right place. All in all, this is a really, truly fine album, and deserves the love it is receiving from many reviewers.

    Also, as a closer... I've wanted to say this for a while - this is the record that has finally proven something that I've suspected for a long time: that there are sections of Tori Amos' fan base (including many commercial reviewers) who will NEVER be happy with anything she does post-90s. I read time, and time, and time again on post-90s Amos reviews that somehow she's completely changed and lost her power as a writer, that she has grown old and safe and stale. What these reviewers ACTUALLY want, isn't a new record - it is to be back in the mid 90s again, to feel young and like music was their whole life. To listen to a more recent record and observe that it isn't as 'meaningful' or 'important' as something you enjoyed as a moody teenager who wrote poetry and FELT everything is one thing - but to assign the cause of that shift to the artist and none to yourself and how YOU have changed is ridiculous.
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  7. May 13, 2014
    1
    I've been a Tori fan since "Little Earthquakes," but I'm just not feeling this one at all. I've listened to it once and feel no desire toI've been a Tori fan since "Little Earthquakes," but I'm just not feeling this one at all. I've listened to it once and feel no desire to listen to it again. It just felt like Tori on Xanax. I just kept waiting for something to happen, but it never did. The best Tori songs and albums seemed to transport me to a different time or place... but this one seemed to trap me in a little girl's music box... from like a hundred years ago... and I just couldn't wait to get out.

    It's just disappointing, because the title, "Unrepentant Geraldines," suggested something exciting, something stirring. I just didn't find it here. I'm really surprised that it's getting such high praise from fans and critics... because I think it's her worst album... and there's not even one song that I want to listen to again.

    Oh, well... I guess I can wait for the next one. I just hope it's nothing like this one.
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See all 21 User Reviews