On June 19, 2012, Fiona Apple released her latest album, The Idler Wheel…, her first new music since Extraordinary Machine in 2005. But like Apple’s 1999 album, the title was typically shortened from a longer poem. However, where When the Pawn… was a massive 90-word response to a derisive magazine article, The Idler Wheel… was a demure 23 words.
Known for taking her time on albums, often isolating herself to work whenever the whims strike her, Apple’s dedication to her craft always pays off in interesting ways. Apple was much more experimental with obscure and unlikely instruments on The Idler Wheel… than on her previous works. While Extraordinary Machine saw her getting into more art pop territory, its release was also plagued by controversy and delays. The experience seemed to cause a shift for Apple, who would begin recording The Idler Wheel… in secrecy.
Later, her 2020 album Fetch the Bolt Cutters featured more field recordings, Apple playing xylophone on her dead dog’s bones, and literally using her house as an instrument. The Idler Wheel… began that journey into more adventurous sounds from the relative safety of more mainstream work.
Fiona Apple Recorded ‘The Idler Wheel’ in Secret, Didn’t Tell Her Record Label Until It Was Finished
For this album, Fiona Apple teamed up with her touring drummer, Charley Drayton. The process began around 2009, but Apple admitted she wasn’t exactly sure about the timeline.
“It was very casual,” she told BlackBook in 2012. “And I wasn’t fully admitting that I was making an album. I got to use the time in the studio to inspire me to finish other things, rather than feel like I was finishing homework to hand in. It wasn’t a lot of pressure. And the record company didn’t know I was doing it, so nobody was looking over my shoulder.”
This freedom seemed to extend to Apple’s compositions and instruments as well. Her expressive vocals anchored the album in a human element, as was her wont. But the wide range of percussion and field recordings seemed to throw some critics for a loop. Without the overly produced keyboards or orchestral arrangements of previous albums, a few reviewers found this album sparse in comparison.
But it was more likely that the Mike Elizondo-produced elements of Extraordinary Machine were replaced with Fiona Apple’s singular influence, with Drayton her only co-producer. Together, they layered innovative percussive sounds over raw demos. Slapping thighs, scuffs of their dancing feet across the floor, whatever “truck stomping” is. The album credits also include instruments that seem almost like insider information. What are “voice strings”? Where did the pillow come in? What does “voice of pain” mean?
It seems likely that only Fiona Apple and Charley Drayton know the specifics. But listening to The Idler Wheel… now, in a world where Fetch the Bolt Cutters also exists, it becomes clear where Apple was taking off to. They become almost like sister albums in a way. Not quite twins, but springing obviously from the same source to balance and mirror each other in their innovative sounds and exploration of the human condition.
The post 14 Years Ago, This Y2K Art Pop Icon Released an Album She Recorded in Secret, Featuring Strange Instruments Like ‘Voice of Pain’ and ‘Truck Stomping’ appeared first on VICE.
