A new kind of REVIEW...Fiona Apple, Extraodinary Machine as I hear it
Because you really can depend on first impressions I thought I'd try a new type of review. I haven't listened to Fiona Apple's latest efforts, so I'm doing so...right this second. I'm on Get Him Back, the second song....and well, it sounds very much like Fiona Apple. Piano led, pretty orchestral arrangements, intelligent lyrics. Something that makes this song stand out already are the time changes - it gives the song a sort of...prog-jazz-easy listening feel, something that isn't unwelcome, is quite interesting. Apple's voice too, is more grown up, but she sounds more like she did on Tidal, her first album; she's exploring her voice again, and it sounds fabulous. The start of O' Sailor sounds like an opening track on When the Pawn...which isn't unwelcome, but by this point Apple feels more comfortable, this now sounds properly like a Fiona Apple album, she gradually seems to be introducing more word play, more ambiguous lyrics. Previous albums have dealt with the horror of her young life, the brutal rape she suffered aged 13, the eating disorder she struggled with during Tidal, failed relationships she endured, loves found and then lost. This album seems regretful, and there is an almost palpable yearing in Apple's voice, perhaps due to the strain of having to re-record the entire album that would eventually become Extraordinary Machine. On songs like Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song), there is the reintroduction of instruments that would sound familiar to fans, an optigan, a wurlizter, and hey presto, the melody is back and so far it's the stand out track. The next song, Parting Gift, is the sort of song that Apple does exceptionally well. A piano-led, vocal powerhouse the song is sickly sweet and oh so sad, totally reminiscent of fan-favorite Love Ridden, the song showcases her true talent; heartbreaking, angsty, real songs about true pain. Fiona Apple in many ways is always the wrong done woman, and boy does she play that role well.
However, the next song, what is it, track 7 now (?) is the total opposite. Big band orchestration, a joy for the ears, clever word play, a complicated, tuneful melody. It is the difference, the opposition that makes this album enjoyable to me, Fiona Apple is both wounded and strong, and is mournful during both. Red Red Red is almost scary, the song comes off as maniacal, possesive, like a more serious Paper Bag. It's unpredictable, and now it's fading out, an implication that there wasn't an ending, that the singer is still trapped in a world of desperation. Talk about unpredictable, with less than a minute to go in Not About Love, there is an almighty rocking electric guitar, and Apple is...rapping? Well not really. It's more like poetry slam, spoken word or something. However, this is Fiona Apple in the 21st Century, and she is just as interesting as ever, plus her lyrics have always been poetry, so the whole slam thing makes alot more sense. It's actually very reminiscent of the spoken word interlude in the epic The Whole of the Moon by The Waterboys, and well, that ain't a bad comparison.
The album is ending now, on a sort of subdued note, but it's been fun. Its not a perfect album by any means, but it is sort of complete. It works as a piece, and it's great in places. There are moments of real experimentation, and moments of real excellence, too; it won't dissapoint, but it feels like what it is, a re-recorded mishmash, second choice.
But it's bloody good for second choice.
However, the next song, what is it, track 7 now (?) is the total opposite. Big band orchestration, a joy for the ears, clever word play, a complicated, tuneful melody. It is the difference, the opposition that makes this album enjoyable to me, Fiona Apple is both wounded and strong, and is mournful during both. Red Red Red is almost scary, the song comes off as maniacal, possesive, like a more serious Paper Bag. It's unpredictable, and now it's fading out, an implication that there wasn't an ending, that the singer is still trapped in a world of desperation. Talk about unpredictable, with less than a minute to go in Not About Love, there is an almighty rocking electric guitar, and Apple is...rapping? Well not really. It's more like poetry slam, spoken word or something. However, this is Fiona Apple in the 21st Century, and she is just as interesting as ever, plus her lyrics have always been poetry, so the whole slam thing makes alot more sense. It's actually very reminiscent of the spoken word interlude in the epic The Whole of the Moon by The Waterboys, and well, that ain't a bad comparison.
The album is ending now, on a sort of subdued note, but it's been fun. Its not a perfect album by any means, but it is sort of complete. It works as a piece, and it's great in places. There are moments of real experimentation, and moments of real excellence, too; it won't dissapoint, but it feels like what it is, a re-recorded mishmash, second choice.
But it's bloody good for second choice.