Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple fans, you may now stop holding your breath.  Six years after Extraordinary Machine, our favorite acerbic and remarkable singer-songwriter is indeed releasing a new album this spring.

Drayton Does Drums

While details like the album’s title and release date have yet to be announced, the rumor mill is already abuzz, citing Charley Drayton as the album’s mixer and co-producer.  Drayton, who played drums on Apple’s 2006 tour, has an eclectic artist roster which includes the likes of Courtney Love, Johnny Cash and Janet Jackson, just to name a few.

But nevermind them – Courtney’s high, Johnny’s dead, and Janet…well, she’s prolific.  Fiona Apple, on the other hand, is not.

Having released her debut album Tidal in 1996, followed by When the Pawn… in 1999, and Extraordinary Machine in 2005, it’s become clear that the fiercely talented artist releases work when she feels like it, rather than racing to the beat of the corporate music drum.

For fans, this usually guarantees that the music will be authentic, well-anchored and inspired (as opposed to hackneyed, contrived and generic), but it doesn’t lessen the pain of waiting, wondering whether or not our temperamental songstress has flipped off her record label – or worse, the industry in general.  The only thing that would be more devastating than Apple quitting the biz altogether would be if she got all happy on us like Alanis Morissette did. It’s not that we don’t want Fiona to be happy; we just don’t want her music to lose its irresistible edge.

So Fiona, if you’re reading: We love your piano slamming, we love your violent yet velvety vocals, and we love the cleverly complicated wordplay most call lyrics.  And while we hungrily long for new music rife with the fearless melodies and lyrical complexities of projects past, we respect your inclination and freedom to grow as an artist.  After all, “this mind, this body, and this voice cannot be stifled…” Yeah, we also love that.