#68: Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel... (2012)

Fiona Apple became one of my all time favorites the moment I heard her début album, "Tidal". A few months back I bought this album and filed it away. I wanted to save it for when I was sitting on a beach, and now that I'm finally listening to it I can say that she has not disappointed and it's well worth the wait.

Daredevil
"Don't let me ruin me - I may need a chaperone" I love Fiona Apple. This isn't music one would "normally" listen to but it's just so incredibly good. From the quick hits of the piano to the quick march of the drums there's no weak spots on the track, it's just awesome.





Valentine

The chord voicings are so specific to Apple, I need to figure out how to mimic them. They're so thick, so dissonant, but so beautiful. The lyrics are dark, yet somehow uplifting. Her life is over and now she's going to live vicariously through her valentine. Such incredibly words and the music isn't far behind. The chorus is so catchy and poppy, but it never loses it's cooky feeling.

Left Alone
She's still pushing boundaries. The drum solo that leads the song in is followed by a very odd piano. I wondered what she could possibly do melodically with it, and yet she finds just the perfect line. Not only does she pull out of the verse but she melds it to an even cooler chorus. Not enough has been said about her voice, Apple has one of the greatest voices I've ever heard. She expresses emotion in such a way that it pierces right through me and moves me from the inside.

All in all, she's a treasure. She's not for everyone, but dammit she's absolutely stellar. Lyrically she's much deeper than most other songwriters and it's only amplified by her well crafted music. At it's root it's another Fiona Apple album that shows considerable growth and it surely is something special.

Tomorrow's album: The Beatles' With the Beatles.