The music industry is truly unpredictable. A lot can happen in three years — Fiona Apple can certainly attest to that.

The artist began work on her latest album Extraordinary Machine in 2002, alongside producer Jon Brion, but the project was put on hold for two years. Rumor has it the material was not well received by Sony Music due to its lack of potential singles.

Fast-forward to 2004, when tracks from the shelved album were leaked onto the Internet as MP3s, receiving U.S. and international radio play. Around this same time, Apple found herself in the studio with producers Brian Kehew and Mike Elizondo — who is credited with co-writing infectious hip-hop beats such as Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady."

While the collaboration of an artsy pop singer and a hip-hop writer may not have been the most predictable fit, the album revamp worked out. After five years of waiting for a new CD, fans can truly appreciate Apple's sweat and tears in the musical genius that is Extraordinary Machine.

Apple's musical talents have flourished since arriving on the popular music scene in 1996 with Tidal. Then merely an 18-year-old waif with young-adult angst seeping from her pores, Apple's clever lyrics and unique vocal stylings caught the attention of audiences across the country as she bore her soul in raw tracks like "Criminal" and "Never is a Promise." Her sophomore album, When the Pawn…(insert 86 words in place of these ellipses) contained even richer lyrics and tested the waters with heavier drum beats and the addition of organ and clavichord accompaniment.

However, the angry, independent female's latest, Extraordinary Machine, is perhaps her boldest maneuver yet. Saturated with material penned after breaking up with writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson, the album is the ultimate catharsis. Not only are the lyrics intricately pointed, but Apple also experiments with hip-hop beats and the accompaniment of a full orchestra on this mature new material. The album contains nine re-worked renditions and two tracks stemming from its 2002 Brion production, "Extraordinary Machine" and "Waltz (Better Than Fine)."

Perhaps the most innovative work on the new album is its title track, which begins in a tiptoeing fashion reminiscent of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite" with an edge. The sounds of strings, winds, bells and horns intertwine to create a provocative background track. "Extraordinary Machine's" dance tempo is strangely empowering when accompanied by Apple's declaration of independence in the chorus, during which she belts, "If there was a better way to go then it would find me / I can't help it, the road just rolls out behind me / Be kind to me, or treat me mean / I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine."

Producer Mike Elizondo's hip-hop influence comes through in the track "Tymphs (Sick in the Head)." The song blends unique percussion sounds underneath a hand-clapping baseline as Apple smoothly delivers the lyrics "I'm either so sick in the head / I need to be bled dry to quit / Or I just really used to love him / I sure hope that's it."

Apple returns to the sounds of her debut album, Tidal, on the track "Parting Gift." The subdued, when compared to the rest of the album, ballad features simply a woman and her piano. This sound is similar to the stylings of "Red, Red, Red," a track that plays on the emotions and the colors typically associated with them. "But he's been pretty much yellow / And I've been kind of blue," Apple wails, growing increasingly enraged and raspy, "But all I can see is red, red, red, red, red / Now what am I gonna do?"

Extraordinary Machine marks a great homecoming to the music scene for Fiona Apple. While this CD comes highly recommended for man-hating break-up victims, listeners of all kinds will appreciate its innovative instrumentation and emotionally evocative lyrics. Welcome back, Miss Apple.

For those who simply cannot get enough of the new album, Apple has also announced dates for an upcoming U.S. tour set to kick off in November 22. She will travel to Chicago Dec. 4 for a show at the Riviera Theatre.

GRADE: A