Glancing at the album cover, you wonder what goes on in Fiona Apple’s brain. Don’t worry; she has absolutely no problem letting you know. Actually, that’s her trademark quality, her ability to document the struggles in her own head while at once de-personalizing it. She sure does a great job, as her most explicit attacks are not on her ex-lovers (of which there are many), but the jabs at herself. However, this isn’t introspection the vein of Adele, who clearly articulates what she did wrong and what she intends to fix. Instead, Fiona is urgent; never fully admitting what caused the problem, only admitting that she has some issues to work out. Fortunately for us, we are the biggest beneficiaries of her inner turmoil, as her fourth album (big breath) “The Idler Wheel is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do” makes all too clear. Arriving seven years after her excellent “Extraordinary Machine”, “The Idler Wheel” has all of the characteristics of a Fiona Apple album. It’s equally appealing and appalling, because as meticulously crafted and as beautifully written as her music is, Fiona Apple is a weird, acquired taste. Her concept of “singing” and “pitch” never sounds pleasing nor does it make any sense. Also, how she is able to inflate ten tracks into 42 minutes, and make it seem like double that length is indefinitely frustrating.
So, why is “The Idler Wheel…” such a good record? Because for the first time, Fiona Apple has made an album that actually embraces all of her flaws: her vocals are now strained and throaty, her music is now bare and relies only on her piano and Charlie Drayton’s percussion, and while there are no melodic or lyrical hooks, there’s an abundance of rhythmic hooks. That’s a first for Fiona Apple, as her best material has always relied on her delivery of the melody, not what’s going on underneath. “The Idler Wheel” is less about the surface –something that “Extraordinary Machine” could sometimes be all about— and listeners will have to work harder than ever to decipher the intent behind each of its ten tracks. But that’s actually a good thing, as most artists in 2012 would have structured an album for immediate mass consumption. Then again, Fiona Apple never intended to make music for a wide audience, it’s just that her awkwardly charming songs hit a sweet spot back in 1996. And while it’s true that “The Idler Wheel” doesn’t unfold as quickly as its predecessors, it’s also all the better for it. As difficult as it can be, it’s never too tedious. So, the opener “Every Single Night”, “Daredevil” and “Valentine” open the album and already built a solid, sturdy foundation, the rest of the songs constantly shift between sounds and moods. “Hot Knife” is a deliriously fun neo-Jazz number, “Jonathan” is an intricate piano ballad that is long yet enjoyable, and “Werewolf” is an intriguing, percussive song that intermittently shifts between being mysterious and being funny. Song for song, hook for hook, and note for note, “The Idler Wheel…” is Fiona’s best album to date. Even more impressive, is that this her fourth album in a row that confounds expectations, is a lot easier to consume that it leads on, and is once again some of the best music (of any genre) in its given year. “The Idler Wheel” doesn’t demand your attention, but rather, it every slowly digs its way into your mind, and it proves that Fiona Apple just gets better with age. Even if all of her ideas don’t gel, she’s gloriously messy, gleefully introspective, and delivers each note and lyric with an understated confidence. This is music that proves that less is more; music that Fiona hinted at but never quite made.
Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Every Single Night 2. Daredevil 3. Valentine
4. Jonathan 5. Left Alone 6. Werewolf
7. Periphery 8. Regret 9. Anything We Want
10. Hot Knife
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