Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine

year 2005 review: The amateur dramatics of her extended “between producers sulk” and the unprecedented show of support by Fiona Apple’s online petitioning fans that led to the label giving her the chance to finish Extraordinary Machine are proof enough that nearly all the songs here just weren’t ready enough. Apple’s difficult third album is a stillborn and patchy affair that leaves the aftertaste of regret.

Even after a few listens into Extraordinary Machine the musical paint quickly dries to reveal a thinly veiled cover-up job of a barrel load of average tunes done in a her now increasingly tepid and familiar style. Her familiar limited intonation, preferential treatment to the delicately played thunderous end of the piano and the stop/start song structure strain at the leash of niche appeal and look like a three trick waiflike pony. There is no defining feel (beyond the aforementioned clichés) or any notion of a diverse experimental record either; there’s just a lot of filler between the three great songs.