Fiona Apple -Extraordinary Machine

Thu 22nd Dec, 2005 in Music Reviews

What a clever (if unintentional) way to ignite curiosity about your forthcoming album. In May 2003, Fiona Apple completed an album entitled Extraordinary Machine. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be at Sony decided to shelve the album on grounds of its ‘lack of a single’ status. So, fans are hankering, feet are tapping, and it’s been five years and no new music. No album from Fiona Apple – until, that is, it’s mysteriously leaked onto the Internet last year. Whoops. Good news for the fans though, who (unsurprisingly), loved the new material. People go nuts downloading the songs and Sony scratch their heads for a while. By the time another year has passed, Apple has re-recorded the album and finally released it as a dual-disc with DVD extras. Better late than never, eh?

There’s a certain something about Fiona Apple. Something different, some element that saw her gorgeous debut Tidal win praise from both mainstream and alternative circles, securing her reputation as simultaneously credible and yet very accessible. While the sultry vocals and tendency for cheekily seductive delivery remain intact, it’s immediately obvious that Extraordinary Machine is no spontaneous affair. Apple’s vocals are treated to an intensive airbrushing session in production – and sound amazing for it. The song arrangements, on the other hand, are minimised completely, lending the album a cabaret feel that’s playful and deliberately understated.

The overall collection lacks the intensity of 1999’s When the Pawn, and the sporadic jam-style influence of her backing band seems to have taken a backseat. Thankfully though, Apple’s uniquely off-kilter approach to songwriting and structure is again a focal point for Extraordinary Machine, and the hesitant, fluctuating power that underlaid her previous albums is now exposed to its full extent. Though the aesthetics are different, it appears the fundamentals of the creative process have remained constant.

The opening and title track is a lilting number punctuated with staccato strings, Apple’s smoky vocals and not much else. It’s features an indirectly obnoxious narrative that begins in a near-whisper and gradually grows in confidence and volume to finish triumphantly. Second track Get Him Back is more familiar in structure – rolling rhythms, pounded piano and endearingly uneven song structure. Apple seems alluring and threatening all at once, promising to seek revenge yet hinting at something far more desirable.

Better Version of Me swaggers and struts, and Apple lets her vocal chords loose. The track slows unexpectedly and increases intensity again without warning, and the lyrics swim over the instrumental sections, without attempting to conform to the confines of conventional timing. Tymps begins with a slightly Chinatown feel with its tinny xylophone flourishes and snapping rhythm section, but soon a drum solo envelopes the song and slathers the musical landscape with depth, before receding and disappearing.

Apple proves her prowess over Norah Jones et.al with the piano-accompanied ballad Parting Gift. Excellent production ensures you can hear every quiver of her vocals and every intake of breath, and although the song is understated, the power in the chorus is undeniable. Window showcases a more complex approach, with piano, strings, brass and drums filling in a very lush arrangement. Flickers of keyboard smooth over bridge sections and the brass makes for a dramatically heightened chorus. It’s a technique that harks back to several When The Pawn tracks, and is certainly no less effective in a new context.

Red Red Red is technically the slow point of the album, but the track wastes no time in building intensity. A shuffling cymbal-heavy rhythm lies at the back of the mix, while washes of strings and synths move to foreground and background in tandem. The vocals epitomise controlled tension, and the starkness of their delivery captures and holds your attention for the song’s duration. Just before you’re about to get contemplative, Not About Love careers off in another direction. A definite highlight of the album, it rolls around as though in the throws of a fit, sharply chopping and changing and writhing with leaked energy. The jazz-style improvisation complements Apple’s vocals beautifully, and the drums only escalate the dizzying mood of the track.

The DVD includes a video for Not About Love featuring some impressive lip syncing (courtesy of comedian Zach Galifianakis) that’s amusing for the first couple of minutes, but then begins to detract from the music. Also included are live performances at Club Largo that appear fantastically intimate but rather badly recorded. Nevertheless, the live footage shows a likeable, nervous Apple flanked by some spectacular guitar and banjo work.

The hardest adjustment to make with Extraordinary Machine is the stark nature of many of the song’s instrumental sections. Where the previous albums were filled with sensual bass, insistent piano and forthright drums, Extraordinary Machine is far less anchored. And although there are some fantastic moments on the new album, they pale in comparison with the consistent genius of Apple’s former offerings. Although Extraordinary Machine is an interesting experiment – and it’s largely a successful one – it was Apple’s powerful sensuality that placed her previous work in the ‘exceptional’ category. Seasoned fans will definitely enjoy the new instalment, but perhaps for others, it’s unable to pack quite the same punch.