Fetch The Bolt Cutters

There is no one else like her

I really love Fiona Apple. She is an artist more than a singer song writer. I own most of her albums, and I have beenn listening for the, throughout the years. Fetch The Bolt Cutters have some great songs. But for most of the songs I feel like her artistic side took over the song writing side. Too many Jason Pollock like songs on the album, making it a demanding and always satisfying listen.

Ça a attiré ma curiosité 5 minutes, et puis en fait non.

Off the wall burning a good way.

NO! This is just bad. 1.0

Day 82 I thought I was gonna look weird for liking this but fortunately I've landed on the consensus. Percussion's fucking lit. Fav track: Shameika

Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters (2020) Interesting album. Excellent sounding drums and percussion on a decent system despite the random dogs barking. A strong ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Enjoyable listen, think I prefer her debut a bit more

Quirky, fun, creative, a bit odd... random dogs, barking in some of the songs (but I love that part honestly!), and Fiona Apple's soulful voice. I'm sure this is not everyone's cup of tea as it's kind of an experimental mismash, moments in here that I really enjoyed. I like that she experimented with GarageBand and did this herself. I like that she messed around with non-traditional instruments because in the end this works.

Grows on you as you listen to it despite the excited dolphins screeches, random dog sounds, and Gene Belcher banging on pans and keyboards.

I seesawed on this so much from track to track. Highlights: Shameika, Heavy Balloon

Well this was surprisingly good!

Bjork on crack. This could have been so much better. I think she made this album losing a bet.

Jesus, this is a bit of a slog. It’s not awful, but I didn’t like it, especially the last few tracks. Not going to be missed from future editions.

First track is a banger. Whilst being a give Fiona Apple fan, this was a little weird, even for me

Recorded mostly in Apple's home studio years before COVID shut down the world, this record takes me back to the lockdown despite having nothing to do with the pandemic outside of it releasing in March 2020. The scrappy production includes unique percussion made by whatever objects Apple had lying her home. The homely recording struck a chord with many who were stuck inside. That isn't to say that this is rough or lo-fi, Apple's voice is incredibly soulful and powerful. When the backing vocals come in, this record feels euphoric. She can still write a captivating piano-led rock sock. Some of her words will stop you in your tracks. I doubt this will covert any non-believers, but this is yet another excellent record by Fiona Apple.

Loved it when it was released. Love it today.

Certainly a front-loaded record, the first three songs are far and above the best ones. It heads steadily downhill after that with a lot of same-y sounding "percussion orchestra" stuff. The lyrics are very good at times and would make good pop or rock songs. The artsy "banging" on random objects got old really fast. Critics, of course find it "experimental" and love it but mostly, it's just noise looped into a beat. The record is mediocre at best and intolerable at times. I heard it, I moved on, I'll never circle back to it.

I loved some moments of this and hated some moments of this. Typical Fiona experience for me.

One of the better things to come out in 2020. Its just a perfect album that she clearly had tone of fun making and pushed it to the edge. Some might say tough listen but for me its essential listen at least once a year.

That was a pleasant surprise.

RYM-käyttäjien ja kriitikoiden hehkuttama albumi, joka ei kuitenkaan mulle kolahtanut. Liian taiteellista ulinaa ja improvisoidun kuuloisia biisejä. Jossain kolmannen ja neljännen kappaleella aloin vähän lämpeämään tälle, mutta en voi sanoa pitäneeni tästä kauheasti.

Fiona Apple is still an insanely good lyricist and a dynamic performer. I do wish she hadn't had a song that was mostly yappy dog barks. Very irritating.

Some great songs but rest is boring

Not sure about this album, I do like some of her stuff, but not necessarily this album..

One of those songs I already heard it before, the others kinda got a bit tiresome, the style feels ok, not for my tastes

Hell yeah gurl Top bops: Under the table I want you to love me Newspaper Drum set

I liked the first track, up until the weird vocal bit at the end. From there it just went further down hill. The music, particularly the percussion, was good, but the lyrics killed the songs.

The percussion was good.

Well this is disappointing. When ‘Tidal’ appeared on the list, I went in expecting to hate it as I was convinced she only did annoying weird stuff. Yet I enjoyed it, gave it a 3 and accepted I was wrong in my review. So I go into this one expecting good things, only to find a stone cold 1/5 album full of annoying weird stuff. Some of these songs seem designed to hurt the ears, most notably “Shameika” which has one of the most irritating repetitive choruses ever recorded. Sorry Fiona, you’re back on the shit list.

Weird but good! I get the hype

Two songs: Newspapers and Heavy Balloons kept this from being a terrible album. The rest? Downbeat, annoying sounds, and excessive repetition made the songs more annoying than interesting. Strongly disliked this album, but those two songs were alright.

Ну перегрузон небольшой Фиона сделала, мы с ослом и Шреком заебались

I listened to this when it came out after hearing all the hype and I didn’t get it. Now I guess I get it? It walks a fine like between absolutely terrible and interesting and I guess at some point in the last 6 years I ended up on the other side of the line.

I could have gone either way with this one. The first 20 mins were a bit 😬 but by the end I'd warmed to it. This album does an awful lot with very little

Yes, the themes, the singing, the structures, the lyrics...yes to all of it. But the drums!!! So good. They're nuanced, they're creative, they accentuate the lyrics. Amazing. Easy 5 stars.

Fiona Apple is such a nut, love it. Also that upright bass throughout is unreal

As mercurial as the artist herself. This album is challenging and sometimes discordant, but never unintentionally so.

I love a little Fiona Apple. Only downside to the album: the first song was so overplayed when it came out that I did have to skip it. I’ve heard it one too many times already.

Three play throughs, seven replays of Newspaper, five plays of Relay, two comparisons to Tom Waits. There’s no math here it’s just a fantastic, occasionally weird and devastating album!

Absolutely mindblown. Had not heard one single song of this album and I was flabagastered. The old Fiona back, creative, dark, unapologetic, original, unpredictable. This is awesome

Not at all what I expected. Very engaging stuff. The piano sections in the first few songs are spectacular. Latter half of the album was not as good but overall great listen

I was prepared to try Fiona again, and think, bland. But her orgasm song caught my attention, and then I started to dig a few other sounds, vocals and overall, the album.

de fiona apple esperaba algo que me guste más, when the pawn es de lo mejor que escuché y tidal me gustó bastante, este no estuvo a la altura, entre el 6 y el 7 (3 y 4 acá)

Fiona Apple’s debut is album is still one of my all time favorites, but nothing of hers since has ever lived up to it for me. This album is probably the closest one to do so, but it still doesn’t match that debut. Still a great listen overall

Thursday, 8 October, 2026 Great album. I’d like more piano.

Listened to this album several times. Very enjoyable. Her voice is so amazing. She has such a lyrical voice that can go from a great talking tone to a singing phenom so quickly. The track rises and falls to her voice. Love her piano playing too. Favorite songs were: I Want You To Love Me, Fetch The Bolt Cutters, Relay, and Cosmonaut. Honorable mention to Rack of His.

Quirky, catchy, witty sometimes annoying. Great album

I felt like I was stuck in the whitest Starbucks imaginable waiting for too big a cup of something I didn't order.

I think Fiona Apple isn’t weird enough. The most April 2020 album can be. So truly timestamped it’s either commendable or utterly annoying. Today I landed on commendable, idk if it’s the Fiona Apple album I’d pick

I made it about halfway through. It was terrible but I just never went back to it after being pulled away. A pretty egregious inclusion if we’re all being honest here.

hate it. No talking during the songs, sing please

I loved "Tidal." I still love "Tidal." But this album is just... I don't know. The lyrics are pretty crazy. The instruments are pretty crazy. The singing is pretty crazy. And if I liked crazy, it would be a perfect album because it's all crazy. But I didn't really care for it. Some of the vibes reminded me of "Tidal." Maybe I'm just stuck in the 90s and wanting to get back to the deep cuts of that album. If "Tidal" was Fiona Apple high as a kite, "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" is Fiona Apple drunk as hell, and I don't think it's as good as the cocaine-fueled debut album.

What the hell is the wailing at the end of the first song...? Already a strong start towards the bottom. It wasn't quite that bad after the initial shock, but the songs seemed quite bitchy.

Much more experimental than the other Fiona Apple album on this list. In a way I actually preferred it as a result; this one made much more sense for being on the list because it feels like it's trying to do something different rather than just being yet another generic singer-songwriter album. In another way, most of this was not that great. The vocals are fine, but the backing is ... odd. In the earlier tracks in particular I noticed a few bits where there were stumbles in the rhythm and I found them quite jarring. There's other odd inclusions like dogs yapping. Not sure if they're meant to be some of the "unconventional percussive choices", either way they don't fit into the music and just make no sense to me to leave in the recording. Interesting, but not really for me.

This album is a mixed bag + The homely sound of this album + The use of household objects for percussion + Her voice is incredibly capable - The dogs stressed me out - The tone shifts of her voice are very dramatic and sometimes it feels out of place This has been removed from the book in 2026 and I think that's crazy. Get rid of a bob dylan album.

I thought this was pretty solid. Great lyricism, amazing instrumentals. It just felt like it was missing something. 6.5/10

Not my favorite

I like Fiona Apple, and this album had some powerful tracks, but I tend to prefer her earlier sound.

This has grown on me from when I first heard it on release. The percussion and vocals choices are fun and unique for this style of music. The lyrics can sometimes be annoying or deeply unsettling (For Her has not gotten easier to listen to) but they add to Apple's persona. A minor wrinkle in an otherwise well-produced, well-written project from one of the best modern-day singer-songwriters. Rating: light 9/10

Day999 - tidal is great but fetch the bolt cutters is to deep in the fiona apple catalog for me

Good

This is an incredibly dense album full of raw emotion. I found it more interesting than enjoyable the first time through, but it has the quality of something that should be lived with for a while before trying to quantify its impact. I have listened to a few other Fiona Apple albums -- Tidal, When the Pawn..., and Extraordinary Machine. Fetch the Bolt Cutters didn't immediately appeal to me in the same way. It almost felt like a rough draft... with ideas that still needed to be honed, lyrics streamlined, tunes strengthened. But I also get the sense that the raw, messy feel actually took even more work to achieve... intense thought behind every idiosyncrasy. I did have a couple of standouts on the first listen -- Under the Table and Newspaper worked really well for me. I was less enamored with the repetitiveness of Relay or the dog-barking outro on Fetch the Bolt Cutters. These don't feel like they're here due to a lack of ideas -- they ARE the idea, I'm just not there yet. I feel like I'm either destined to gain a deep appreciation for Fetch The Bolt Cutters or never go back to it at all. It's far too interesting for a 3, even though that might better-reflect my enjoyment. 4/5 seems right.

Real musicians playing real music! A NOVEL CONCEPT! The "field recordings" inside Apple's home that punctuate this album create an intimacy missing from a lot of modern music production, which leans more and more toward recursive electronic content creation. MANY publications called this the BEST album of 2020. Because 2020 was a pretty bad year for albums, and a "bad" year in general really, historic though it was. The banal artificiality and marketing-first nature of music at this point in history makes this Fiona Apple album a standout with its basis in the real world. The home recording anchors it in the real world. The acoustic instrumentation solidifies that reality. It's every personal, like Joni Mitchell's work. Also has a "fuck you if you don't like it" attitude that gives a great energy. Sad, funny, brutal. An interesting set of songs with some great musicians (Sebastian Steinberg on bass was a fantastic surprise, as a huge Soul Coughing fan).

I remember checking this out when it came out, and I didn't fully fall into the hype, but I *did* enjoy the album. On a revisit, I do think I have warmed on it. I've always appreciated Fiona Apple's frankness, but I could not quite connect with the music here. There's a junkyard percussion sound here that *is* cool, but back in 2020, I think I wanted this sound pushed a little further. But on a revisit, I can see that it is more ornamenting the art pop songs here than it is the main attraction. I still think Apple's presence is incredibly strong, and there are several really powerful, head-turning lines across this thing, that hasn't changed. But I do also definitely get the atmosphere here a little more now. This was largely recorded in Fiona Apple's home, and it carries a really distinct intimacy for it. Even though I get this quite a bit more now, I do still enjoy other Fiona Apple albums more, and there are a couple of moments where the aesthetic doesn't really pull me in. But this very much works, and I can kind of see how it became an instant classic for a lot of people.

Extremely clever song craft⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Kick me under the table, I won’t shut up” Maybe next time Kick harder and tell her to actually sing! Look as much as some of the sound seemed ok- it never felt like she actually sung but more spoke, the songs felt unfinished, the dogs barking sent my dog crazy and despite the fact I love a mentally broken woman’s voice as a general rule I can not get to grips with Fiona’s I’m afraid. There were a couple of moments I thought she had turned me but then it petered out. But it’s ok musically and the ideas are there, just not executed as well as PJ Harvey for example. I posed the question on getting her last album that maybe she shagged a music producer to release an album, I think now she’s shagged two! Best track- ‘cosmonauts’ Worst track- ‘under the table’ 5/10

Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters Who knew the sound of someone having a breakdown could be kind of listenable. The DIY ethic is endearing but, over 50 minutes, also a little bit trying. Each song tends to just pick up from wherever the last left off, but each does have just enough quirk to hold you to the end. And.....infinitely better than the other Fiona Apple on this list. Best Track - Cosmonauts was lots of fun Worst Track - Under the Table. 5/10

I get it’s thing I’m just not about that staccato/whisper singing, piano driven, rhythm over melody Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, thing. Just not me.

5m.mmmmmmmmmm,.mñ,,,

Frisch, wild, kantig – aber noch zu jung, um schon als Klassiker durchzugehen. Fiona Apple haut hier Türen ein, trommelt auf Küchenutensilien, singt wie jemand, der endlich alles sagt, was jahrelang feststeckte. Das ist stark, mutig, manchmal brillant. Aber genau diese rohe Unmittelbarkeit macht das Album eher zu einem Momentaufnahme‑Manifest als zu einem zeitlosen Werk.

4 Enjoyed this one. The homemade production adds to the vibe and complements her songwriting

OK album

A rare opportunity to hear an album for the first time on wax (having received this album as a gift but never taken out of its plastic wrapping). This was also my first experience of Apple’s music. I found it to be equal parts enjoyable and challenging, with bouncy pop undertones rippling with zany, controlled chaos. My favorite track from this listen was “Ladies.” I will also say that my cat did not enjoy the title track.

Certainly not my type of music but I respect any successful home recording, especially one that can feel both simple yet complex at the same time. 3.5

She just talks through the songs! Yeah, so what, and I like The Hold Steady too. She swears! Okay, on what, two songs? So what, I like Tupac too. It's artsy nonsense! Uh huh. And I like Tom Waits. It's a mental breakdown! Okay, whatever you have to tell yourself. Mental breakdowns create great music. Pour that pain in there. For Her. Fetch the Bolt Cutters. On I Go. This whole thing is amazing and listening to it six years after all the Pitchfork level fawning over this album, it deserved every ounce it received. Five stars, no regrets.

I'm sure it's good if you like Fiona Apple. I never really cared, so I don't really care much here either.

I feel like I need to give this album more time. The music is great. But it's not anything I fell in love with first listen. I might revisit and alter the rating. Cosmonauts was the standout.

Can't help but feel like I'm just not smart enough to really understand it, but I can appreciate the unpredictableness, the DIY sounding percussion, and the black humour. Faves: I Want You To Love Me, Shameika, Under The Table, Ladies

A modern classic, through and through. Solid 5 Stars.

I’m at a 10. 885 days ago, when we got Tidal, released in 1996, I said it felt like a modern day album for 2024. 24 years later, Fiona Apple has somehow created an album that feels like it might still be fresh going into 2044. I don’t know how her brain works, but I feel like I just heard the D.I.Y. of the future. That felt like industrial music made with whatever she had lying around, combined with just a bit of traditional production standards taken from some of her younger pop contemporaries (i.e., Lorde, Billie Eilish, etc) & some of the conscious female hip-hop of the late 2010s (i.e., H.E.R., Rapsody, etc). It’s a fascinating mix of styles that she somehow manages to anchor brilliantly. There’s a metallic pulse to this album that seems to be in search of a purpose, with Fiona having been locked in her feelings for so long that she needs to finally break free of her self-imposed chains. She is desperate to establish that purpose in all aspects of her life, whether it’s in a need for romance, letting go of petty squabbles, maintaining her voice, rediscovering her potential, fighting off abusers, carrying the weight of the past, or finally moving at her own pace. It’s not always done with the greatest lyrical tact, as she occasionally gets a bit cutesy with her metaphors in ways that get a bit confusing, but the drive in her vocals & the instrumental push to everything keeps the mood of each track anchored & grounded. She inserts a lot of humor & positivity here, which does help to keep the album digestible & light despite the pace of it all. It’s a really tough balancing act, and an album that should be messier given all the ways she tries to paint her pictures. Somehow, it feels clean to the ears. Jarring at first, sure, but once it settled into itself, it just demanded my attention the same way a Kate Bush album does. I think going track by track would be futile, since Fiona’s delivery & the instrumentals make the album *feel* far more potent than any words I could type about it. The emphasis is on feel; this album somehow carries the same flow state as a heavy metal album, and if you can find that sync with her rhythm, it will continue to roll into an avalanche that the brain is willing to accept. I think the only loose missteps here are in the last two tracks, but it’s from me being a little picky; I selfishly wanted the end of “Drumset” to keep going another few minutes, and I think “On I Go” could’ve been just a little cleaner in execution. They’re both good tracks though, and my own desires shouldn’t override Fiona’s search to establish hers. I think it’s a 10. I understand all the acclaim it got on a first pass, and yet I still feel like I need more time with it to truly digest all of it. It does things I don’t think I’ve heard before, or at least refreshes them in ways that should help to drive creativity in the genre further. I think it already is an album one should listen to before they die, if only because a lot of what’s being talked about here still meets the desires of the moment 6 years later, especially as more & more attacks on women, their dignity & their right to personhood come into being. They cannot afford to let other people define their purpose, and an album like this that makes that search feel so vulnerable, so communal & so naturally found feels like one that’s needed right now. It is a 10.

This was listenable but didn’t give me any reason to want to

I just can't get into the vocals and the instrumentation doesn't do enough to keep me engaged.

Umm not for me. Her stuff sounds almost more spoken word than music. And her lyrics I don't really get into or want to follow along with. This was a bit of a stretch to give my attention to

Childish, different, interesting. Even if I didn't liked it that much, I'm glad I got to listen to it. 7/10

..

I want to like Fiona Apple but she does not make it easy 😐

I loved this and I love Fiona Apple. I feel that she is not really known among my generation (youthful end of millenial) and that is a gosh darn shame.

Pleasantly surprised, its not really my thing but I enjoyed it and shes got an amazing voice.

Really interesting percussion. The vocals feel quite direct and unpolished. Liked that.

Not all music that is deemed amazing by the internet "connoisseurs" is for me. This album proves that. 3/5

a high four !!!!!!!!!!! love u miss fiona !!!!

Discover something new each time I listen

This album feels like a Time Machine to April 2020 when I went on long walks and had a root beer float every day, but it also feels like a memory from the first listen. It’s like an awakening of a memory from your soul because it’s always been inside of you. And the dynamics and surprises never fail to move me. Good morning!!!!

Really impressive work here. Every song feels like a very different idea that builds on its own. The rhyme schemes are wild too, there are several sections where she just kept adding line after line to the rhyming and I was stunned every time I realized it wasn't done yet. Hadn't heard her since the 90s and it's wild she's been so consistent.

no. 3 fiona apple for me

meh

Really enjoyed this. Her voice and lyrics are very charming and compelling, the production is stunning, and the progressions are great. The one thing I would say is that the first two songs and Cosmonauts stood out way more to me, but I'll go back and redo the album soon and probably appreciate the others more when I'm not distracted by eating ice cream at 11pm. Definitely glad I heard this and I'll do "When The Pawn..." soon too.

So far I've heard Apple's debut, and now her latest work. I was excited to get going, but I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I have been today. This project is a whole different kind of music, within the singer-songwriter space, but very experimental. You can really feel the percussive element leading the composition, and the intricate styles of poetry sit well with me here as music, just the word as form outside of the messaging. That's not to take anything away from the message, every single song is packed with heavy thoughts, philosophy, questions of existential debate, and while I'm very impressed with what she's been able to speak, I'm more impressed that it sounds cool as music when you strip it of the message, in fact, the energy of the music tends to sit amazing with the messages. I could recommend this one to people who don't speak English. I think the quality I perceive is what happens when an artist takes their time to process life before spitting it out. This took about 5 years to make, and it does feel like some of the strongest chapters of somebody's life without the dull filler that comes with being human. Not that breakfasts and movie nights make for bad art, but I'm happy this singer-songwriter opted for profound pieces. I'll be listening to this in the future, maybe not very frequently, but it's pretty and slightly aggressive with a lot of brain-candy for the wandering ear. 4.1/5

not sure. not my normal bag, but certainly individual & poetic in a street poetry kinda way.