2012 was year that saw the indie folk reach what will surely be its mainstream pinnacle as the success of Mumford and Sons paved the way for bands like Of Monsters and Men and The Lumineers to permeate radio waves all summer long. Indie folk has been a genre strongly associated with earnest sentiment - one only needs a quick listen to the Fleet Foxes magnificent 2011 release "Helplessness Blues" to experience the overflowing sincerity behind the sweet melodies and arrangements that this sound can produce. With extreme commercial success, however, suddenly that indie folk sincerity seems to be slipping away. The Lumineers' "Ho Hey" was transformed into a commercial jingle for Blue Moon beer, Mumford and Sons were playing any and all music award shows, including that one held over at MTV, and the overexposure to Monsters' "Little Talks" had people who normally don't veer from the top 40 station screaming out "HEY" whenever there was a pause in conversation.
Commercial success and the changes that go along with are of course inevitable in the music world, but to see a whole subgenre blow up so quickly was surprising and while exposure of a different sound to a wider audience has many merits, there are also plenty of consequences. Whether or not the emotion in these songs was sincere when they were recorded, they are now certified hits and as a result, they don't ring as true or feel as honest as their forbearers like Edward Sharpe's "Home" or Head in the Heart's "Lost in my Mind." Finding authenticty in 2012 therefore had to be located outside the folk world.
Thankfully, 2012 was also the year Fiona Apple, never an artist accused of insincerity (or rushing out and album too fast or titled too curtly), put out her first studio album in seven years. While Fiona's vocals have always been the highlight of all her work, her new album "The Idler Wheel" stripped away the more lush arrangements of albums past leaving it exposed with mostly just a piano and her signature sultry voice to defend itself. "Werewolf" embodies this minimalist approach perfectly and exemplifies how less can indeed be more when you are singing about at topic as common as a breakup. The song is lyrically built on basic metaphors and similes describing the equal responsibility of two parties involved in a split (he was the werewolf, but she was the full moon) and the sorrow of owning up to such incompatibility. Catchy and powerful in its simplicity, the tune is also awash with sincerity, from that fragile pitch in Apple's voice that hides whether she is about to belt out another verse or perhaps burst into tears, to the heartbreaking acknowledgment of "We can still support each other/All we have to do's avoid each other."
What ultimately defines the song is the sound of children playing in the background that catches you completely off guard when it inexplicably comes into focus two-thirds of the way through. The playful screams of these children add a haunting tinge to the somber melody - reminiscent of the children's voices in Radiohead's "15 Step" - but they also serve to represent the full spectrum of human emotion, from the innocent beginnings of adolescent laughter to the pains of adult experience and reflection. When Fiona sings "Nothing wrong when/A song ends/In a minor key" juxtaposed on top of the lighthearted cries of youth we realize that while there may be nothing wrong with a sad ending, it doesn't make it any less sad, and perhaps the realization that what's best for us isn't always what makes us happiest is the ultimate sign of what it means to grow up. This sentiment is in complete contrast with the Lumineers' powerhouse "I belong with you, you belong with me" lyric of "Ho Hey" that goes down much easier but seems more like fantasy. Both outlooks pack an emotional punch, but the one that feels most genuine this year is the one that isn't also trying to sell you an orange flavored beer.
