The Idler Wheel Is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do - Fiona Apple
User Score
8.7 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 177 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 155 out of 177
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 177
  3. Negative: 12 out of 177

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  1. arlp96
    Jun 24, 2012
    0
    THE IDLER... is one the most overrated albums that i counl hear in my entire life, its a completely waste of time try to understand every song that conposed this album, i love Fiona's interpretation but the album like a whole thing don't convince me, maybe is the meaningless lyrics or the awful and akward rithm, i cannot say more of this album, never will be a masterpiece like Adele's 21, recently named one of the best album ever play by a female singer, this is that i call a good album, I'm sorry Fiona, good luck to the next try.… Expand
  2. DimoDammit
    Jun 22, 2012
    4
    Clearly, I'm in minority on this one. I adore Fiona, and could not wait for her to give me a whole bunch of new songs to fall in love with, but this album is a massive misfire for me. I've had it for 3 days now and have listened from start to finish about 20 times....and no matter how hard I try to love it, I just find it utterly frustrating. Maybe it's a grower, but as of right now, I doubt it. Yes, I applaud her artistic risks, and admire the direction she has taken herself with this album, but the bottom line for me is that I can't find a single track on here that I would add to my "Best of the Bitter" playlist. Unlike her previous work, I can't sing along to any of it. I'm truly heart broken over this. I know she could relate.… Expand
  3. frankenbutt
    Sep 4, 2012
    2
    This album has lead me to the conclusion that what I actually like (or liked) about Fiona is the influence of Jon Brion. Without him, she produces unfocussed, poorly structured and unsatisfying music. I appreciate the experimental harmonic language, but it just sits there and doesn't go anywhere interesting. I did like the track 'Jonathon', which did feel like it had some guts, depth and structure, but the rest was just a mess. I'm not sure what happened with Brion, but I sure wish they would patch things up and make music as good as they did on Pawn and Extraordinary Machine (The Brion version). Severely disappointed.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
89 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 35 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. The Guardian
    Dec 20, 2012
    80
    It's an album that demands something of the listener, but rewards it in spades.
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  2. Expert Witness (MSN Music)
    Jul 24, 2012
    91
    An album that's damn catchy after all.
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  3. Austin Chronicle
    Jul 19, 2012
    67
    Still the same Fiona Apple: bigger than "all the fishes in the sea."
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