Tori Amos review – fans hang on every note of this dramatic deep dive into her back catalogue

The masterful performer previews her allegorical new album about the ‘fight for democracy over tyranny’ amid a set full of immaculate musicianship

Ahead of her 18th studio album, In Times of Dragons, and on her first tour in three years, Tori Amos is navigating the brutal state of the world in a way only she knows how: by channelling Celtic gods and turning into a half-dragon, half-woman character. The allegorical tales that make up her forthcoming record – “a metaphorical story about the fight for democracy over tyranny” – are evident on the early outing and live debut of Shush. A dark, doomy, track that slowly unfurls like a southern gothic tale, albeit one about battling an evil billionaire lizard demon husband. It’s big, dramatic, world-building stuff. But it’s also emblematic of Amos’s knack for delivering complex, weighty subject matter with deftness and fluidity.

However, this is not a run through of her as-yet-unreleased album. Instead, Amos dives deep into her vast and sprawling back catalogue, from the delicate deep cut Ruby Through the Looking-Glass to the atmospheric, slow-burn jazzy grooves of Little Amsterdam.

The love in the room for Amos is palpable. Her songs, voice and masterful piano playing bring out an almost devotional following and the room hangs on every note. On top of a drummer and bass player, Amos has three backing singers, who she calls angels and who are utilised heavily throughout. Occasionally, their presence gets in the way of the raw intimacy one expects from Amos, but mostly the vocal back and forth is as immaculate as the musicianship on display. The singers elevate tracks such as Pandora’s Aquarium and lift the soul-pop sway of Witness to stirring new levels.

It’s not a hit-stuffed set, but Crucify is a beautiful closer, delivered in a way that feels tight and loose, detailed yet expansive, tender and rousing; the encore of early career favourite Cornflake Girl has the whole venue on its feet and in dizzy awe. While Amos may feel the need to shapeshift into a lizard queen in order to process our current catastrophes, she has an audience that will gladly follow her deep into the heart of any dragon’s den.

• Tori Amos plays Symphony Hall, Birmingham, 10 April; then touring the UK and Ireland until 21 April, and internationally until July 7.