6. Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do
This is anger barely restrained. From start to finish, through every valley of sparse production and some of the most sensitive percussion youre likely to hear, there is a shimmering bitterness lying just below the surface at all times. Apples tainted, poisonous vocals quiver throughout, bending under the weight of effort it takes to keep this snake under wraps. She sways between choking back acid tears and stifling screams, and even when she slips the noose off for a moment and things get a little playful, the bitterness pervades. When she dips into anguished love songs it never ends well, and even in its lightest moments Apple never unclenches her jaw. A complex, bipolar album riddled with slicing metaphor and discord, The Idler Wheel erases the splashes of colour weve come to expect from Fiona Apple - this is a woman badly burned and scarred by life, love, everything. When her rage is allowed to bleed through, its so heartfelt its quite unsettling. I ran out of white doves feathers to soak up the hot piss that comes through your mouth every time you address me, she seethes in Regret, unleashing the rancour which she keeps so tightly bound throughout the album. This isnt the kind of angry music thats going to kick off a mosh pit, its the kind that will leave you gritting your teeth and clenching your fists in a red mist of animosity.
Game-obsessed since the moment I could twiddle both thumbs independently. Equally enthralled by all the genres of music that your parents warned you about.
