The incredibly talented, young and scandalously sexy Fiona Apple has finally put out her much anticipated third album. Full of melancholy piano and angst-filled vocals, Apple has created another masterful creation in Extraordinary Machine.
Extraordinary Machine, is a bubbly sing-song tale, which rolls up and down in rhythmic hills, creating a lyrically intelligent nursery rhyme of sorts. Apple elegantly expresses her strength in elementary terms when she sings "Be kind to me, or treat me mean, I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine." Golden.
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Poor Apple is always struggling to be happy, but luckily for everyone else her infliction delivers beautiful melodic ballads, with bold piano chords and strange offbeat chamber music that is so uniquely Fiona. The sixth track, "Parting Gift," is a real jewel placed right in the middle of the album and features only Fiona and her piano. Softly sung and tenderly played, "Parting Gift" will make any listener want to cry about a past love that was wrong from the start. Sigh.
Who else can write lyrics as cleverly and concise as "Oh, you stupid, silly, pastime of mine?" Apple's complex feelings can be felt through her music, as she puts to words in metaphors and rhymes, confronting her own faults and experiences without shame. The song "Red Red Red" presents an honest and intelligent metaphor lyrically with the words "I don't understand about complimentary colors and what they say/Side by side they both get bright, together they both get gray. But he's been pretty much yellow/and I've been kind of blue/but all I can see is red, red, red now."
Basically, the entire album is somewhat of a hallucinogenic walk in a garden, something natural and mesmerizing. It is honest, filled with soul, rhyme and exotic instrumentals. Although Fiona can sing with raw abrasiveness, the whole album flows smooth and harmoniously. Fiona Apple proves, once again, she truly is an extraordinary machine.