-
10.0
43099
10.0 |
A.V. Club
The warm, loose production creates a jazzy, session-like feel, as if Apple is locked away inside some tapestry-draped cocoon only accessible to outsiders through direct auditory input
Read Review
-
10.0
43100
10.0 |
Rave Magazine
It’s a melancholic album that’s so personal and revealing you’ll almost feel like an emotional voyeur for listening to it
Read Review
-
10.0
43176
10.0 |
Pretty Much Amazing
While Fiona Apple has reached a new peak as a vocalist, she has also further matured as a lyricist. Her lyrics used to tend toward showiness; now they are simple, direct
Read Review
-
9.0
43564
9.0 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
An emotional thesis that cannot be ignored. It is perhaps the most unforgettable work of her career
Read Review
-
9.0
43952
9.0 |
No Ripcord
Apple continues to straddle somewhere between high art and adult contemporary, writing for the kind of nifty pop music that’s refined, but with a common touch
Read Review
-
9.0
44503
9.0 |
Tone Deaf
Hours could be spent discovering these songs and there’s no doubt after one listen you’ll be willing to give the time up
Read Review
-
9.0
43127
9.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
Succeeds in creating a singular world more daring than any of Apple’s previous records and one of the most daring pop records in recent history
Read Review
-
9.0
43258
9.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Whether it is ugly or beautiful, she is determined to shun the generic and share with us something personal. Never has that been truer than on The Idler Wheel
Read Review
-
9.0
43263
9.0 |
Under The Radar
Another singular album from a truly idiosyncratic voice, Apple has once again invited us into her lushly conflicted inner monologue—just don't ask her to provide any easy answers
Read Review
-
9.0
42923
9.0 |
musicOMH
A really incredible album, where Apple has quite cleverly developed musically in just the right way, creating something utterly distinct and different to her earlier work whilst still retaining all the characteristics that won fans over to begin with
Read Review
-
9.0
42924
9.0 |
BBC
Eschews the lush, tricksy instrumentation of its predecessor in favour of jazzy, sometimes wild percussion, Apple’s bounding piano lines and typically expressive vocal performances. It is punchy, vibrant, compelling stuff
Read Review
-
9.0
43029
9.0 |
Pitchfork
The 34-year-old makes herself heard with her voice, her words, her piano, and not much else. This is the most distilled Fiona Apple album yet
Read Review
-
9.0
43076
9.0 |
All Music
Stripped of all her carnivalesque accouterments, Fiona Apple remains as rich and compelling as she ever was, perhaps even more so
Read Review
-
8.5
42954
8.5 |
Prefix
The Idler Wheel... stands as her most concentrated and mature record yet
Read Review
-
8.4
43204
8.4 |
Paste Magazine
She may work in a form that’s notorious for its introversion, but at heart Apple’s a pop extrovert: She makes it painfully and gloriously clear that her pain is our pain, that her horrors are universal
Read Review
-
8.3
43403
8.3 |
Beats Per Minute
Poignant, nuanced and quietly unforgettable
Read Review
-
8.0
43454
8.0 |
State
Opinions may vary, but one thing is certain; The Idler Wheel will never be classified as easy listening
Read Review
-
8.0
43114
8.0 |
Spin
The unexpected triumph lies not in the spectacle of the singer raw-dogging her emotions, but in her total command of the anarchy that results. The demons remain, but her talent prevails
Read Review
-
8.0
42963
8.0 |
NME
Endlessly fascinating and unlike anything you're likely to hear this year
Read Review
-
8.0
42967
8.0 |
Mojo
It's a hyper-vivid and intensely musical affair. Print edition only
-
8.0
42925
8.0 |
Bowlegs
A deep mix of cathartic workouts and nervous repression about to implode at any moment. It’s what Apple does best, and this also happens to be Apple at her best
Read Review
-
8.0
42926
8.0 |
The Arts Desk
There's hope here for the angsty girls that never grew up
Read Review
-
8.0
43640
8.0 |
Uncut
It's Apple's refinement as a writer that makes this harrowing psychodrama so gripping. Print edition only
-
8.0
49421
8.0 |
The Guardian
The askew, jazzy, playful melodies lead the way to songs of gripping candour and emotion
Read Review
-
8.0
43095
8.0 |
Slant Magazine
The Idler Wheel feels thoroughly modern because of Apple's lack of an internal editor
Read Review
-
7.0
43169
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
A challenging album. The songs are intricately arranged but sonically stark, foregrounding Apple's piano and the stupendous drumming of Charley Drayton. There's not a single big, chewy hook on the album
Read Review
-
6.0
43092
6.0 |
PopMatters
As inaccessible and uneasy as the record is, it can still be praised for its bravery of musical defiance—something in which Apple has always been a trailblazer
Read Review
-