Fiona Apple: The Idler Wheel … – review

As the full title of Fiona Apple's fourth album implies, The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do is a challenging proposition. It features chimes, playground screams and tribal drum motifs, while her trademark piano can sound as if it is being hurled down the proverbial flight of stairs. And yet, the askew, jazzy, playful melodies lead the way to songs of gripping candour and emotion. "I just want to feel everything," declares this postmodern Billie Holiday, amid tales of romantic fear and confusion and tears on dinner plates. Left Alone finds her asking how anyone could love her "When all I do is beg to be left alone," while Regret's shrieked accusation at a man whose voice is like "hot piss" is hard to shake off. Her use of language and imagery – "moribund sluts", "orotund mutts" and men who cut into her like hot knives through butter – is dazzling. It's an album that demands something of the listener, but rewards it in spades.