Fetch the Bolt Cutters - Fiona Apple
“Fetch the bolt cutters / I’ve been in here too long”.
The coincidence between the refrain of Fiona Apple’s title track and the current frustrations of a world imprisoned by a global pandemic is almost too good to be true, as if those words were purposefully written to console her isolated fans.
However, having been written between 2015-2020 and released eight years on from her previous record ‘The Idler Wheel…’, ‘Fetch the Bolt Cutters’ is a highly introspective and personal album. Acting as a five-year long therapy session for the songwriter to confront her past, from the school “bullies” and “it girls” to abusive partners and the industry, Fiona leaves behind the melancholic melodies of previous releases and gets pissed off.
Co-produced with bandmates David Garza, Amy Aileen Wood and Sebastian Steinberg, every second of this album demands to be heard. A collage of unusual found-sounds constantly battle against the intricate rhythms and complex harmonies of the piano and double bass, for the attention of the listener. The captivating composite of sounds are reminiscent of bickering children fighting for the attention of their neglectful mother. But it is the youngest child, the raw vulnerability of Fiona’s lyrics and vocals, that we can’t help but to favour.
Amidst sounds of dogs barking, clinks of a metal butterfly and stove tops, Fiona’s intimate whispering vocals cut through on the track ‘Fetch the Bolt Cutters’, contrasting with the decaying strained vocals and manic laughter heard on ‘I Want You To Love Me’.
This is a woman using her voice in all the ways she can to finally be heard. Screaming, growling, and spitting about the injustices she and other women face and refusing to forgive her oppressors any longer. Her insistently repetitive refrains become mantras for her listeners, such as the empowering “Kick me under the table all you want / I won’t shut up” (‘Under the Table’) or the self-assured “But now I only move to move” (‘On I Go’).
At its core this album feels undeniably human, from the organic production to Fiona’s unapologetically real and confrontational lyrics. It is not common for an artist to be so graphic in their expression of deeply personal issues, but Fiona allows herself to be exposed, “You raped me in the same bed / Your daughter was born in” (‘For Her’). Layering only her voice in beautiful harmonies in this acapella song, Fiona expresses a sense of unity and support for the unheard and unbelieved victims of sexual assault.
It’s unsurprising that the album was praised so highly by critics on its release, including a 10 rating from Pitchfork (their first since Kayne West’s ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ in 2010). Even on tracks that make for more difficult listening, such as ‘Newspaper’, it is hard to deny the artistry. The heavy, untuned timbres of the percussion playing persistent and uninteresting rhythms, paired with the interjecting monotonous backing vocals feels purposefully exhausting to listen to, as Fiona takes the weight off of her shoulders and puts it onto ours.
For a work of art Fiona described as “just a big messy making of a record”, the response to ‘Fetch the Bolt Cutters’ couldn’t be clearer. A masterful yet unpretentious storytelling of life lessons and music making, that couldn’t be more relatable in these trying times.