Fetch The Bolt Cutters

I discovered Fiona relatively late, back in 2006 and then I was taken by storm and loving more and more her albums. I saw her twice in concerts in 2006 and 2007 in Michigan and it was a great experience.I unfortunately seem to love her for different reasons than what she wants to be loved for: Her physical appearance, the beauty of her melodies but also her lyrics indeed. She has a sense of turning her sentence to make them hit you in the face…I was a bit puzzled with the previous album, she had departed from her other arrangements. Jon Brion was wonderful, just check the videos of both together and playing acoustic guitars. Yet, the Idler wheel also hit the mark with me with songs like “Hot Knife” and “Every single night”…Now, I did read that Fetch the Bold Cutters was even less musical, with lots of percussions but interestingly she is suddenly touted as the best there is… Which leave me a bit dubious.So here are my feelings for every song, I am fully aware that Fiona Apple needs an adaptation time to get all the good to sink in but I will take the chance upfront, I’ll come back to amend my review if things changed a lot:- I want to you to love me:The piano riff is very reminiscent of the piano music played in the horror movie “Evil Dead” if you remember. This is very musical, even when she sounds very emotional. And then she changes into powerful belts, reminding us that she has a full control over her voice. Her high pitched voice by the end will unsettle a few. 5 stars.- ShameikaA Piano introduction again very reminiscent of “All about Love” in her third album. She is half rapping half semi speaking. The music gets a bit confusing for me in the middle. In the end, she adds very strange noises that she found somewhere … Not the easiest song to listen to. 3 stars.- Fetch the Bold CuttersShe directly talks to someone in that song, with expressions like “You said that…”. An ex-lover I imagine. Visibly, the bold cutters are to exit a nefarious relationship where she wonders why she stayed too long. Percussions are very present but so is the melody on this song. Is she doing references to another great female singer Kath Bush with “Running up that hill”. Fiona also uses multiple voices on this song and barking dogs noises… A nice song that I will listen to again. 4 stars.- Under the tableAnother discussion with “You”… You is visibly oppressing her…But she won’t shut up. The music is full of details, perfect for audiophile headsets by the way (So was the Idler wheel). 4 stars.- Relay.“Evil is a relay spot when the one who’s burned turn to pass the torch” is the first chorus in that song. Once again, she addresses someone “You”. It then turn into a strange thing again… Fiona is really full of surprises… You never know where she will go but the last high pitch vocals got me…. I love it. 4 stars.- Rack of HisConversational as usual… But I love it from the start. It always get me right when she deigns to be musical, here I do recognize the Fiona I felt in love with. This is a good proof that you can get melodic in spite with almost military percussions. 5 stars… My favorite so far.- NewspaperSounds like to me like the message from an old victim of a narcissistic pervert to his new victim. Not the most musical track of the album by far. 3 stars.- LadiesAh this one sounds more musical than the previous one, much more… Yet, same topic as the previous one… One woman coming after another one… Nice background vocals. Much less percussions than the other songs… Another of my favorites. 5 Stars.- Heavy BalloonFirst song of the album where I clearly hear a guitar (right ear). Some interesting voice mixing. Very interesting orchestration, very nice sounding… Love it. 5 stars.- CosmonautsBack to conversation lyrics… Not a bad song but so far not the most memorable for me. 3 stars.- For HerLots of female vocal harmonies. 3 stars.- DrumsetAnother conversation type song with nice vocal harmonies. Catchy tune… 4 stars.- On I goNot the most harmonious song in this album… Lots of cacophony here.I cannot say that I am really getting into it. 2 stars.In conclusion:As her most recent albums, this album cannot be considered as “easy listening” and it will likely take a while for me to really appreciate it as it deserves. I am writing this because I have no doubts about Fiona’s talent.In the end and as a scoring after a first hearing, here is the average of my scoring for this album: 3.84 Rounded to 4.

love the album, obviously, but the case is damaged. when i open it, it falls apart. manageable but still very sad

came damaged in the outside. vinyl was in good condition though

My son in law requested this. Thanks

I love Fiona Apple

Received and case was scratched up. Not good for gift

I love Fiona Apple

Only issue: The vinyl cover is damaged. 3 out of 4 corners are smashed in. I have a collection of vinyls and this is a no no for me records are undamaged.The album is one of the best shes done and definitely the best this year. I absolutely love that she included the native american territories in which it was recorded i dont think I've ever seen that before. Its hard to choose one or 2 songs cause they are all great. The change up on for her is unlike any other I've heard. Just amazing work by Fiona and her collaborators. She always keeps us waiting years and years for an album release but the wait is always worth it.

I have most of Fiona's albums from her fantastic debut Tidal onwards. She is based in New York , was a precocious talent when she emerged, and has produced a unique body of work. It is normally all carefully produced and well arranged, with long gaps between each album. This is a very different offering, it is rough, ready, angry, and much of it is recorded at her home studio, with a meowing cat, barking dogs, and assorted kitchen utensils as percussion all featuring at times.. Hi fidelity it definitely ain't .She normally has a way with beguiling and memorable melodies, but here it is all harsh, recorded very live, with short phrases often repeated many times, and she features bad language, and very crude percussion and unpolished rough draft songs. She is angry and kicking out at the world , knocking out these songs in a rush, she is definitely not a happy bunny.The critics have rated the album highly in many end of year lists, it seems like a therapy album, getting a whole load of issues off her chest in a short sharp stream of consciousness outburst. It is certainly not easy listening, sounding at times crude and rather bashed out, and will inevitably divide her fans . Distinctly different, admirable intent , but certainly not relaxed, it will probably not be one that will be played regularly by me longer term. It seems very much of the moment, an emotional outburst. I am not sure whether it was recorded in Covid lockdown, but she seems to have other wider issues in her life.I have listened to it a handful of times now, some of her lyrics are very clever and memorable, she has always been a very articulate lyricist, but for me the abrupt crude arrangements and odd amateur home percussion tend to get a bit wearing and detract from repeated listens. Some of the albums that I like best grow on me with repeated listens, but this seems to be rather the opposite, making a strong impression on first hearing, but becoming strained and not very loveable with repeated plays.Hmm, a one off oddity, surprised it has been so widely praised and featured high up in end of year critics lists, for me it all seems rather over rated, an odd one off venture, baring her soul, very honest yes, but not her best work from my perspective.

Another slice of genius from Fiona Apple - tender, funny, angry, wry, nostalgic. FTBC has to be THE lowdown theme song of all time. And that VOICE! God bless your feminist heart, Fiona, there's no hope for a world where your music is drowned out by the c**p that sells in millions.

Fiona Apple has only ever made wonderful, eccentric, unique, beautifully performed and produced music. No duds anywhere. This is a wonderful album, excellently produced (such clarity of sound!), quirky insightful lyrics and a great performance (even the dogs). We devotees have only one complaint - we have to wait too long between albums!

I try really hard to like Fiona Apple's music. At her best, she is one of the most original and creative singer-songwriters of her generation, but she seems to almost wilfully subvert her music to make it as irritating as possible. It seems that every other track on this album incessantly chants a line in the song over and over again, and the extended dog barking at the end of FTBC does nothing to make it an enjoyable track to listen to. A shame, because other than these foibles, there are some great songs lurking on this album. I've bought two of her albums before and experienced similar frustrations, but was tempted to buy this one because of the great reviews. I'm afraid it will be my last. Oh, and this must be the worst album cover of 2020. Another part of her strategy?

The front cover photo tells you everything you need to know. She’s clearly mad as a snake and there are dogs barking, household objects being used as instruments as some very original and challenging songs to digest. Never a dull moment and it’s a great listen once you get used to it.