Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters (Epic)

With rave reviews paving the way…a rare “10” from Pitchfork…Fiona Apple breaks her eight-year silence with Fetch The Bolt Cutters. So, does Apple’s 5^th album live up to the hype?

I’m afraid I got off on the wrong foot with Fetch The Bolt Cutters. Anxious to hear it as soon as possible, I listened to the various 13 tracks in a somewhat random order on YouTube. I liked what I heard OK, but it didn’t blow me away.

Then I got a proper version of the album, listened to it as it should me heard and, I’m here to tell you that this is indeed an excellent record.

Recorded in Apple’s Venice Beach house…complete with contributions from her 5 dogs…this record is heavy on percussion. Helping out are bassist Sebastian Steinberg, guitarist David Garza and drummer Amy Aileen Wood, and all, including Apple chime in on percussion, including banging chairs and other household items.

The emphasis on percussion might leave you to think melody and musicality have been abandoned, but that certainly is not the case.

It’s Apple’s voice that brings everything together here. Her voice is strong, at times strident, and I could hear every lyric she sings…which is unusual for most new releases.

Its clear that Fiona has something to say, stories to tell and they come through loud and clear here. This is an artist who knows how to communicate with her audience.

In addition to the usual topics of love and relationships (I Want You To Love Me, Newspaper) Apple takes on topics such as school yard bullies (Shameika) where she proclaims that “my dog and my man and my music is my holy trinity”.

But rather than her man, Fiona seems to be singing to and/or about other women.  In Newspaper she addresses her ex’s new gal…”I wonder what lies he’s told you about me” and Ladies claims to be about “not letting men pit us against each other’.

Other topics include depression, monogamy, an inter-band squabble and the Kavanaugh hearings.

One of my faves is Under The Table, where our singer is dragged to a dinner she doesn’t want to attend.

“Kick me under the table all you want, I won’t shut up”, she let’s her partner know.

There are glimpses of humour throughout the lyrics and the dogs appear in several instances, to keep things from getting too heavy.

So is this the album of the year? Well, its only April, so a bit early for that. But I have a feeling this will indeed top many year-end best-of lists.

Marty Duda