Q '96

Eighteen-year-old native New Yorker Apple is a pianist, singer and songwriter with a husky, 50-Gauloises-a-day voice reminiscent of Nina Simone or Judie Tzuke. Drifting like B-movie smoke from flared nostrils, Tidal is languidly addictive, with some suitably atmospheric percussion and sonic weirdness from Jon Brion, who plays everything from the marimba and vibraphone to the chamberlain and tack piano. Elsewhere, Brian Wilson collaborator Van Dyke Parks lends a helping hand, while Carrion, Shadowboxer and Slow Like Honey all reek of the sullen romanticism that characterises this assured debut. fin