Just six months after the release of her most recent full-length, Abnormally Attracted to Sin, Tori Amos is back with Midwinter Graces, her first holiday album in a career that has spanned two full decades. While the concept may seem a familiar one, Amos’ approach is far from it. Rather than simply put her spin on traditional holiday tunes, the piano woman radically reinvents the standards she takes on, rewriting music, adding and changing lyrics, and making them entirely her own. Supplemented by a number of new originals, the tracks here add up to far more than a Christmastime afterthought — this is an album that can stand up to any of Amos’ studio work, marked by complex arrangements, live orchestral contributions, and even the recording debut of the singer’s nine-year-old daughter, Natashya.

We caught up with Amos during a brief respite at home between tour legs to talk about the new record, her views on religion versus spirituality, and her upcoming musical, The Light Princess. Read our exclusive interview and listen to the new album after the jump.

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