In Times Of Dragons

The vital In Times of Dragons whisks Amos back to hallowed days, penetrating the soul and shaking foundations in a manner that hasn't been heard since Pele, Choirgirl, Scarlet, or Posse.

In the grueling journey to reawaken a suppressed voice, she’s found another, one that will sustain her into the next season of her life as a musician, as a storyteller, as a woman. The narrative that frames In Times of Dragons is complex and intentional, to be sure, but it isn’t the whole story, not by a mile.

It’s certainly not a record to dip in and out of – this is, without a doubt, an album to listen to in the dark with your finest pair of headphones – but those who devote the time to it will be richly rewarded.

Like its closest Amos siblings, Scarlet Walk (2002) and American Doll Posse (2007, it's far from immediate, but the delayed gratification reaps rewards aplenty. [Jun 2026, p.86]

While all this makes for a rich, dense and sometimes overwhelming offering, Amos still ensures there's some light amid all this darkness. [May 2026, p.25]

The staggering amount of feelings spent and tales fabricated draws the listener into the story as much as it may pull them out of it.

Her piano-led songs tackled the constraints and contradictions of womanhood head-on, leavened with acerbic humor, Southern wisdom, and fantastical elements. The dense, poetic In Times Of Dragons continues that legacy. [Apr 2026, p.70]

As has been the case with many latter-day Amos albums, her lyrics can be overtly literal, with references to “democracy,” “free speech,” and, on the brief “Ode to Minnesota,” “ICE [breathing] in fire’s wind.” But they can also occasionally illicit a well-earned chuckle. .... But it’s the album’s stunning closer, “23 Peaks,” that fully captures both the allegorical lyricism and fusion of classical and prog-rock influences that made Amos an iconoclast.