Smart singer/songwriter Fiona Apple, mistress of the unnecessarily long album titles (and I thought When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King was bad), releases her fourth studio album and first since 2005.
The good news is that despite the time between albums, Apple's style hasn't altered in that period still giving us intelligent baroque pop songs heavy on wit and personality with discordant, usually piano-driven, instrumentation that can be both enchanting and off-putting depending on the direction she wants to take you.
Long time collaborator Jon Brion (Magnolia soundtrack) is left off in favor of her touring drummer Charley Drayton for producing duties although Apple's songs in general still have strong Brion influences to them.
The lyrics writing is once again top-notch with beautiful imagery and brightly colored metaphors peppered throughout the entire album. The stark visuals she paints with her words are extremely vivid and effective.
In the extremely witty and well presented "Werewolf," Apple compares her former lover to dangerous things like the previously mentioned werewolf, a shark and a volcano; although she is sure to share in her portion of the blame for setting her lover off. It opens with the starkly told but beautifully imagined, "I could liken you to a werewolf the way you left me for dead/But I admit that I provided a full moon."
The Idler Wheel... is not the most accessible album out there today but fans of Apple will find it a wonderful edition to her breadth of work. Her songwriting chops are as solid as ever even if the music with its non-standard melodies and heavy emotions still won't have great appeal for a mainstream audience. However, indie music fans already in love with Apple now have reason to renew that love.
Score: 7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Werewolf" and "Anything We Want"
The Billy Corgan fronted prog rock band best known for their work in the 90's release their ninth studio album.
This is the band's second album since reforming in the mid-2000's (minus Chamberlin, Iha, and Wretzky) and since they started the Teagarden by Kaleidyscope project, for which they cobbled together enough songs to turn it into a disappointing album released at the end 2010.
This time around its more music from that project although on this version it's actually compiled and presented in such a way that the disc actually sounds like a cohesive album. In fact, that's not the only thing that returns to form as we get a sampling of music that actually reminds us of what made the band popular in the first place: distorted guitars, a keen indie music sensibility, and Corgan's poetic songwriting.
This 13-track album takes a couple of songs before finding its footing but by the third track, "The Celestials," you begin to feel that Corgan can summon that magic at least one more time. The track itself builds beautifully starting off with the acoustic guitar but flawlessly and brilliantly transitions to full electric guitar and bass as the song builds and Corgan warbles about finding your eternal love.
There are other gems as well on the disc. "My Love Is Winter" is a more pop-y song with a big hook and encompassing electric guitar work. "Violet Rays" is more of a ballad but the standout part of the song is Corgan's vocals emote the same level of tension that made his best songs so memorable. While on "Pale Horse" they use an Elbow-esque opening guitar melody to craft a bittersweet ballad where Croogan's pleading vocals add an extra level of tension that many other artists would be unable to pull off.
Oceania ends up being a really good album from the Pumpkins and their best release since their heyday. The songwriting is beautiful and varied, the vocals aren't any worse for the wear, and the absence of the other founding members isn't felt at all. For a band that had as many seminal albums as the Pumpkins, this album can't top their best but it is a welcome return to them creating songs that are both relevant and entertaining.
Score: 8/10
Song(s) to Sample: "The Celestials", "Violet Rays" and "The Chimera"
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