This will probably disappoint many musically literate readers, but prior to 2020, I had never heard of Fiona Apple. All of a sudden, at the beginning of April, the internet was abuzz with her name; at a friend’s behest, I listened to her new album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, when it was released on April 17.
At first, I didn’t get what all the fuss was about. But then the album snuck up on me and I fell in love with it—it’s perfect for being angry and frustrated and feeling your feelings. Apple’s rage is dignified, certainly, but raw nonetheless. She’s angry at men, the critics, the man who sexually assaulted her when she was 12. She communicates this through dissonant, idiosyncratic instrumentation and the way she half-speaks, half-sings many of her lyrics.
The album’s titular song is about the experience of confinement and entrapment—a thing Apple has experienced after being tried and convicted in the court of public opinion early in her career. It also feels perfect for this moment: the line she repeats throughout the song is “Fetch the bolt cutters, I’ve been in here too long.” We all want to escape the suffocation of quarantine; “Fetch the Bolt Cutters” understands the derangement that accompanies sitting inside all day.
One aspect of this album I love is that it’s something you can dance to but also sit and relax with as well. “Ladies” encapsulates this. Apple calls her audience to attention at the start of the song, hooking us in with a lilting “Ladies, ladies, ladies.” She then expounds upon her message: women should unite in solidarity rather than allowing people (*cough* men) to divide them. It’s definitely, like I mentioned before, full of rage and vindication. But it’s also a great listen.
Give Fetch the Bolt Cutters a try—I hope you’ll enjoy it.
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