Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters

Alright guys, time for another contemporary review. For this week I actually changed the album I was going to review from The Strokes’ The New Abnormal to Fiona Apple’s The Bolt Cutters because the famous (or infamous) music critics at Pitchfork gave this album a perfect score, so I had to listen. I did record a score for The Strokes album so I will be releasing that with other contemporary albums I don’t give a full review in a segment called “Rapid Review” that I will introduce later.

So, I actually don’t know much about Fiona Apple since she’s not really in the realm of music I reside in, but I am always up to experience something new. Fiona Apple is a Grammy nominated singer-songwriter from NYC that is well known for her “Best Female Vocal Rock Performance” Grammy for Criminal. The Bolt Cutters is her 5th studio album after eight years since her last album The Idler Wheel, but she is not very fond of closely released albums anyway.

Apple starts the album off with I Want You To Love Me that I do read as a very passionate intro song about somebody else or maybe even her fans. The instrumentation from the very beginning all the way to the very end is so pristine and thoughtful, and this first track ends with the piano becoming sporadically (but still somehow methodically) playing as Apple laughs squeakily fast and repeatedly. The album continues with the great piano melodies as she explores her childhood and the societal need for her to attract men. She constantly repeats “Shameika said I had potential” like some kind of peer or older figure that could be trying to help Apple with her appearance even though she doesn’t care. Throughout the record, Apple also layers her voice for more subtle messages and often it is very effective. Here’s my analysis of the lyrical content in the rest of the tracks:

- Fetch The Bolt Cutters > She wants to escape her situation of being younger or disadvantaged. Ends with dogs barking and heavy breathing.

- Under The Table > “I would beg to disagree/But begging disagrees with me” earworm. She wants her voice to be heard and disses people who push people down so they can succeed.

- Relay > “Evil is a relay sport/When the one who’s burned /Turns to pass the torch” repeated chorus. Big bass drum booming as Apple seems to be, again, cleverly dissing someone or a type of person for their privileges and genetic superiorities. Quiet, kind of creepy, whisper-singing at the end of the song.

- Rack of His > Talking about a significant other that she loves but is not getting much in return. She vocalizes her attraction to his rack of guitar necks? Also seems like this guy could be a musician she wanted to work with.

- Newspaper > Some guy is taking the spotlight from her and a friend. Weird love triangle is being described of famous musicians? “We’re the only ones who know” is a great sounding line with harmonizing from either herself or another vocalist. Quiet tapping and strumming ends the song.

- Ladies > A message to her significant other’s future girlfriends

- Heavy Balloon > Nothing clear to me but themes of agriculture to describe herself, she also identifies herself with people who feel lost.

- Cosmonauts > A sassy but purely genuine appreciation for a human being she loves. The execution of her vocals and message is phenomenally passionate.

- For Her > Tensions rise fast with the critique of a man and then accusation of rape.

- Drumset > More criticism of a man asking him “Why did you not want to try? / Why did you take it all away?”

- On I go > Apple wants to prove herself

Overall, Fiona Apple’s heavy use of repetition, groovy instrumentals and vocals, and lyricism do an amazing job at expressing her feelings of suppression as a child or teen (or at least that’s what I’m getting out of it). She also tackles the theme of love in so many scenarios and aspects it’s quite incredible. The songs are pretty accessible by themselves but can be annoying because of the repetition, but depending on one’s taste all the songs could become earworms. If all the significant others she is describing in this album is the same guy, that would be quite a roller coaster of a relationship.

Great Album: 9.0

Favorite Tracks: Under The Table, Cosmonauts, and For Her

Least Favorite: Drumset