*I was staring at the sky, just looking for a star...*

I’ve recently gotten myself a copy of Fiona Apple’s latest album, The Idler Wheel… It’s definitely a very interesting listen, and one I’d recommend. For those of you unfamiliar with Fiona Apple, her music is dark, dreary, occasionally uplifting, and always emotional. The songs have a structure more associated with pop music, but her deep voice shows that there is something more profound and disturbing under this facade. Her husky alto voice carries the songs with a rare intensity (and is a bit reminiscent of a torch singer from the '30s), backed with swelling strings and delicate piano melodies.

 

While Fiona has been in the music scene for more than 15 years, she has been a fairly recent addition to my music collection. I actually went and searched down some of her music a few years ago, after watching some VH1 show featuring the “Top Songs of the ‘90s”… The first song I heard of hers is probably her most famous, “Criminal”. After downloading a handful of songs from her first album, Tidal, I ran across “Paper Bag” and it quickly became a favorite of mine – and one I’ve often dubbed as my theme song.  The simple, grooving drumbeat, melodic piano and poetic lyrics hooked me. I listened to the song over and over, each time identifying with and finding a new appreciation in another layer of the song.

 

Since then, I’ve found myself listening to Fiona Apple on a fairly regular basis. She only has 4 albums, but all of them have noteworthy qualities and songs that I would urge anyone to take the time to listen. Tidal  is dark, murky, and soulful. As a songwriter, her songs are blunt, emotional, pensive, and self absorbed yet strangely relevant. This is a woman who knows she's screwed up, but isn't going to ground herself in her pretensions. She's world weary... Opening with "Sleep To Dream", a stalking theme of romantic collapse with biting lyrics and thundering piano taps. "Sullen Girl" is powerful. In fact, this whole album is commanding. "Slow Like Honey", "Never Is A Promise", "Shadowboxer", "Criminal", are all significant. It's hard to believe that a 17 year old girl wrote these melodies and words. Her vocals ache with disappointment, regret, and pain. And what’s even more interesting about hearing her first album, is to see how she evolves as a musician and songwriter.

 

Her next album, When The Pawn…,  is still probably my favorite album. While her first album could become a bit tedious, this album contains all of my favorite songs of hers. “Limp” is, musically, a wild ride of complex melody, jazzy interludes, and poetry. “Love Ridden” is a mellow discussion of the aftermath of a breakup. “Fast As You Can” is another amazing song. Opening with an unique drum fill before kicking in with a driving piano part and fast paced vocals, the tempo change in the middle makes for an interesting listen and stands out in contrast to the rest of the song. And “Get Gone”… The repeated piano riff through the verses is rather addictive and interesting and I find the lyrics and passion behind the performance quite liberating. Again, I love the contrast in this song – how the quiet verses transform to the strong chorus, where she defiantly sings, “I do know what’s good for me”. I love that. The album closes with the slow, subtle ballad that is an almost hopeful end to a somewhat cynical album.

 

After six years of waiting, Fiona released her third album in 2005, Extraordinary Machine. away, "Extraordinary Machine" grabs you, with its unexpected orchestrations--oboe and bells that delightfully enhance this downright catchy tune. The ironic pairing of such whimsy with lyrics about adaptability in a raucous relationship is delicious. “O’Sailor” may be my favorite on the album, with her trademark piano style and smoky yet yearning vocals. "Not About Love" describes the scene after a late-night fight or possibly break-up. "Get Him Back" narrates the vengeful plans of a jaded lover that eventually finds herself wanting back the one man who didn't disappoint her. Probably the most outwardly angry songs on the album is "Window" where she tells about how a "filthy pane of glass" was obstructing her view out a window while a lover is confessing to having an affair.

 

Which brings me to her latest album, The Idler Wheel… Upon my first listen or two, I knew this was different from previous releases. I listened to it often through the month of December and it really hit me that Fiona is pouring her emotions out like never before. She is really letting loose and her voice sounds better than ever. The writing and creativity is superb. While not all of the songs are instantly accessible, this is some of the most passionate, emotional work I have heard from her. "Every Single Night" starts out quietly, with a vibraphone/toy piano sound, joined by an acoustic base; she starts softly, soon becomes demanding: "That's when the pain comes in...Like a second skeleton/Trying to fit beneath the skin/I can't fit the feelings in/Every single night's alright with my brain." There are not words at my disposal to describe the emotional changes that this song brings you through, but it had my mouth open in disbelief, it was so powerful.

"Werewolf" is another standout track set to a chiming piano. This dichotomy, this my fault/your fault push and pull is something that she excels at, and this song is no exception, and it is developed into a description of an obsessive relationship, full of pain but full of fire. "If I'm butter, then he's a hot knife, He makes my heart a cinemascope..." she croons to an insistent tom tom beat on "Hot Knife" and soon a dark dancing piano figure comes in, and Fiona, tight and controlled begins harmonizing with her sister, twisting in and out of each other's melodies, forming a complex web of sound that is still focused and sharp. It is an astonishing achievement that she pulls off with incredible focus, and her sister's voice is not only an amazing counterpoint to her own, but is hauntingly similar. All in all, this is an incredibly intimate album.

 

Fiona brings a sultry mix of blues, pop, rock, and R&B to the table, along with edgy lyrics and fresh perspective. I look forward to hearing more from her, even if I have to wait another 7 years for a new album.