Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters ALBUM REVIEW
Fiona Apple really needs no introduction. She’s a legendary singer-songwriter who released her debut album Tidal at the age of 17. Many critics have compared pop phenom Billie Eilish’s rise to fame to Apple’s rise in the 90s. Since then, Apple only drops one album seven or eight years apart. Her last album was in 2012, which was The Idler Wheel…, a near-perfect art-pop record with her expressive yet dull and haunting vocals, along with Apple’s always stunning writing. Eight years later, Apple has returned with her fifth LP Fetch the Bolt Cutters, a raw and stripped back album with an unconventional and bizarre sound, yet still a Fiona Apple record.
I usually try not to talk about other people’s opinions on these, but major publication’s reactions had a pretty big influence on my review. Fetch the Bolt Cutters has earned widespread acclaim from essentially everywhere. On Metacritic, it is currently the highest rated album of all time on the website with a 100% score. Pitchfork gave the record a perfect 10/10, the first one given in nearly a decade. The last 10/10 given by Pitchfork was Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Now, I can say upfront that Fetch the Bolt Cutters is not a perfect record. It’s pretty close to one, but it really isn’t. I’ll get into that later, though.
There is a LOT to like about this record. I’m a big fan of the unpolished aesthetic that is covered throughout Fetch The Bolt Cutters, albeit a little rocky. There are times where some tracks start with these big swells of sound, and then it just dies out for the rest of the track. One of the most consistent things about Fetch the Bolt Cutters, though, is its writing. I can argue that Fiona Apple is one of the greatest storytellers in all of music, and this album solidifies my claim. Her performance on all of the tracks is soul-stirring, with a husky tone that perfectly accents the unpolished instrumentals. If I had to pick out a couple of tracks that are must listens, they’d be “Cosmonauts,” “I Want You To Love Me,” and “Rack of His.”
The only complaint I have with this album is its sound. Yes, I do love the banging on the walls and dogs barking, but there’s a part of me that wants to hear these tracks with all of the instrumentation as I mentioned earlier with the swells of music. Since I feel like this is quite possibly the most final versions of these tracks, that aspect is a little disappointing to me.
Fetch the Bolt Cutters is an album for the #MeToo era. It feels raw and powerful, like Fiona Apple really is. This record hits the highs of The Idler Wheel… and even Tidal at times, but with these lingering feelings in the back of my mind about more finished songs, it makes me wonder if this would be the perfect album if the production was touched up. But I can understand the concept and take what I get. Fetch the Bolt Cutters is awesome.
9/10
Stream Fetch the Bolt Cutters here
I usually try not to talk about other people’s opinions on these, but major publication’s reactions had a pretty big influence on my review. Fetch the Bolt Cutters has earned widespread acclaim from essentially everywhere. On Metacritic, it is currently the highest rated album of all time on the website with a 100% score. Pitchfork gave the record a perfect 10/10, the first one given in nearly a decade. The last 10/10 given by Pitchfork was Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Now, I can say upfront that Fetch the Bolt Cutters is not a perfect record. It’s pretty close to one, but it really isn’t. I’ll get into that later, though.
There is a LOT to like about this record. I’m a big fan of the unpolished aesthetic that is covered throughout Fetch The Bolt Cutters, albeit a little rocky. There are times where some tracks start with these big swells of sound, and then it just dies out for the rest of the track. One of the most consistent things about Fetch the Bolt Cutters, though, is its writing. I can argue that Fiona Apple is one of the greatest storytellers in all of music, and this album solidifies my claim. Her performance on all of the tracks is soul-stirring, with a husky tone that perfectly accents the unpolished instrumentals. If I had to pick out a couple of tracks that are must listens, they’d be “Cosmonauts,” “I Want You To Love Me,” and “Rack of His.”
The only complaint I have with this album is its sound. Yes, I do love the banging on the walls and dogs barking, but there’s a part of me that wants to hear these tracks with all of the instrumentation as I mentioned earlier with the swells of music. Since I feel like this is quite possibly the most final versions of these tracks, that aspect is a little disappointing to me.
Fetch the Bolt Cutters is an album for the #MeToo era. It feels raw and powerful, like Fiona Apple really is. This record hits the highs of The Idler Wheel… and even Tidal at times, but with these lingering feelings in the back of my mind about more finished songs, it makes me wonder if this would be the perfect album if the production was touched up. But I can understand the concept and take what I get. Fetch the Bolt Cutters is awesome.
9/10
Stream Fetch the Bolt Cutters here
Comments
Post a Comment