Fiona Apple's Pawn Wins The Match

"I've acquired quite a taste," sings Fiona Apple on her outstanding new album, "for a well-made mistake." The assertion sounds like a manifesto, especially given the young singer-songwriter's precarious status in a pop world that glories in devouring its former darlings. A few years back, Apple stormed the gates with her debut, Tidal; on the strength of her surprisingly rich, knowing voice, sophisticated songwriting instincts and evocative lyrical gifts, she quickly won over critics. Thanks to the softcore video for "Criminal"--in which she slinked about in her underthings like some straight-to-cable vixen--she reached superstar status on MTV. Her sophomoric, self-serious outbursts in interviews and at awards shows, meanwhile, suggested this gifted teen might be wearing out her welcome in the spotlight.

Having passed the ripe old age of 20, Apple recently expressed regret over her video exploits and has shown a determination to avoid ranting in the press. Even so, the opaque 90-word title of her new album suggested to some that she hadn't left her Joan of Arc complex behind. Critics, pundits and other pop-culture wags began trashing the record before they'd even heard it.

But Fiona Apple's sophomore release, generally abbreviated When the Pawn..., is unquestionably one of the best of '99. Where Tidal showed promise, Pawn is consistently solid, inventive, heartfelt and surprising.

It's clear from the outset that Apple has grown into her voice, coaxing seemingly unlimited nuance out of even the smallest gestures, while her jazzy phrasing now fully accentuates her material.

And what material. Lead single "Fast As You Can" rides an organic groove that takes its pulse from electronica, but when its anxious syncopations give way to a meltingly lovely bridge, it takes your breath away--even after repeated listens. Of course, repeated listens are the key to the song, which initially seemed too outside for the airwaves but which grows more compelling with subsequent spins. With any luck, the righteous "Limp" will be the next radio track; its langorous verses explode into a breathless chorus of uncompromised fury at abusive male power: "Call me crazy, hold me down/Make me cry; Get off now, baby--It won't be long til you'll be/Lying limp in your own hand."

The brooding "Love Ridden" mourns the evaporation of intimacy, as Apple throatily croons, "Only kisses on the cheek from now on/And in a little while, we'll only have to wave." Emotive but delicate strings garnish the Joni Mitchell-esque piano, leaving plenty of space for a vocal of almost unbearable tenderness. On "Paper Bag," a standout even on this consistently solid collection, she takes her cue from the jazz-pop standard, letting the rueful melody bounce off a swinging rhythm as she bemoans a romantic disappointment. The song's unexpected melodic twists are the purest distillation of Apple's remarkable growth as a composer, accommodating the swoops and switchbacks of her discursive lyrics with an almost gymnastic agility.

There's a similarly elegant pairing of wistful-yet-tough melody with graceful, groove-conscious lyric on "The Way Things Are" ("If you keep on killing, you could get me to settle/And as soon as I settle, I bet I'll be/Able to move on"), while "Get Gone" is a caustic kiss-off that swings like mad. Indeed, every track on Pawn is a fully realized creation--in these days of maximum disposability, it's a pleasure to listen to a suite of songs wholly lacking in filler.

While Apple is the sole composer and lyricist credited on the disc, some credit should go to producer/multi-instrumentalist Jon Brion, whose trademark antique keyboard sounds and expressive touches never fail to complement Apple's writing and performances. Other noteworthy contributors include drummers Matt Chamberlain, Butch (of the alterna-pop group eels) and Jim Keltner and keyboard wizard Patrick Warren.

Ultimately, though, When the Pawn... stands as a testimony that--far from having used up her allotment of fame--Fiona Apple is just beginning to show what she can do. The final phrase of her album's lengthy title puts her desire to "make a mistake" in context: "If you fall it won't matter, cuz you'll know that you're right." Rather than attempt to duplicate her past successes, she's making music that's both forward-looking and fortified by the best musical traditions. Whether the hipster crowd can get with this or not, it will doubtless be remembered as the document of Fiona Apple's coming into her own.

––Simon Glickman

Fiona Apple's official site: http://www.fiona-apple.com