When Fiona Apple announced her return to mainstream
performing and subsequent upcoming studio album release, the indie music blogosphere was infused
with a rush of excitement. One I will admit I was swept up in myself before I
realized I wasn’t really all that familiar with Apple’s works outside of “Criminal”
and really had no intention to be. When a live recording of “Anything We Want”
from Fiona Apple’s SXSW visit, I was intrigued but not impressed and as more
and more people seemed to indicate that I should be anticipating Apple’s first
album after 7 years, I found myself disenchanted more and more by the idea of
it. Enter Dave at Rawkblog who convinced
me to actually listen to When The Pawn… to get an idea of Apple’s style and
hopefully understand new single “Werewolf”, where Apple rattled out metaphor
after metaphor, better. A feat that actually
worked while also making me realize I had heard far more of Apple than I
thought I did.
Album opener “Every Single Night” is exactly when I realized
I was indeed hooked, as Fiona puts her knack for poetic lyricism at the
absolute forefront along barebones accompaniment. It’s also a surprisingly
perfect introduction to Apple as a songwriter for the uninitiated and/or
unfamiliar – even virtually acapella there’s still hints of the jazzy lilt
Fiona imbues in her music and her bold fearlessness as she suddenly swells to slightly
subdued shouts before floating down light as a feather.
“Daredevil” expounds on
this, Fiona’s musical equivalent of a high wire act plodding along daringly
slowly adding sultry temptation, an air of danger, and slightly more in terms
of instrumentation – it’s the first true instance of Fiona’s steely-eyed flippant
disregard for pretty singing as she howls and yelps and twists her voice with
little regard for judgment but instead of emotional release.
There’s also Apple’s clever little phrases
that don’t draw much attention to themselves as Fiona coos “I don’t cry when I’m
sad anymore” while double bass strokes envelope her and she in turn turns to
tuneful shrieks in “Left Alone” or “All that love must’ve been lacking something
if I got bored trying to figure you out” in the piano pop romp of the occasionally
humorous “Periphery”.
While each song
works in its own individual way towards the inevitable tension release, The
Idler Wheel... is not without obvious highlights – “Jonathan” with its peril-invoking
piano lines and foreboding percussion Apple expunges yet another one of her
demons in the form of her ex; and exceptional album closer “Hot Knife” as Fiona
turns a nursery rhyme-esque simple lyric
into a contrapuntal masterpiece – layering vocals on top of vocals turning her
and her sister Maude’s vocals into a full on round with an remarkable pop twist
punctuating her slightly veiled sex reference with primal percussion ensuring that you’ll be
humming it for days after.
The Idler Wheel… is the kind of album you treasure once
you get the full scope of it, an album sure to be as cathartic for the listener
as it no doubt was for Fiona to write and create. It’s an album of unflattering
self-awareness that deals with those swarms of negative emotions we rarely champion;
breakups are the standard but on The Idler Wheel..., Fiona outlines her own neuroses
and flaws and in turn helps you feel a bit more comfortable with your own.
Apple’s lyricism seems almost overwhelming in its deluge of thoughts and ideas
but the truly important points stand there like buoys in the ocean of Apple’s
stream of consciousness writing-style.
Fiona Apple's The Idler Wheel... is currently available for streaming as part of NPR's First Listen before it's June 19th shelf-date. Listen here.
I have to give this a listen for sure.
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