fiona apple - fetch the bolt cutters (2020)

check out that rack of his

the release date was announced at the start of the month

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_66Skytfh3Y

it's wild to compare this early version of "Ladies" to the final one

the release date was announced at the start of the month

― ufo, Saturday, April 18, 2020 10:43 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

ah right! thanks, obviously i totally missed that.

I liked the singles on the debut but never really followed her after that. I really like this. First thing I thought of was Tom Waits. I wish it was a little more melodically interesting - a lot of the vocal melodies are very sing-songy - but I see that the vocals are in service of the rhythm, which when combined with all the wordplay and internal rhyme makes me think of hip-hop.

She seems to be having a real good time on this album, even in moments of pain, there is a real confidence to her delivery. She is self-indulgent, but not self-conscious. I don't know anything about her now, but this strikes me as an album made by someone with a lot of time, money, and pot.

Newspaper is probably my favorite so far; when she double tracks the vocals on certain lines it kills. Is it just me or does it speed up in the second half?

Its not just you! Very subtle tempo changes throughout the song ( around 3:30 , and 4:07 mark) Or it could just be us.

I couldn't tell if it was just her vocal attack speeding up or the rhythm as well.

took my first walk with this yesterday, it was pretty special. top 2 music walks of the year, along with a Saint Cloud one.

Very impressive record. Gimme a few more listens before I can tell you how much I actually like it (she's been hit and miss with me in the past).

"Shameika" is pretty amazing.

For anyone just hearing Apple for the first time and liking this one, I recommend the previous album 'The Idler Wheel...' its in a similarly vein with the clattery percussion etc. At some point I need to spend more time with the first 3 which I've never really fully engaged with.

Never heard, but "Hot Knife" (which I think was from that record) was my favourite thing that she'd done so far.

The stretch of Ladies, Heavy Balloon, Cosmonauts and For Her is 10/10

The stretch from I want you to love me to On I go might be too.

is there a word for the type of vocalizing she does at the end of "i want you to love me"? it reminds me of patty waters.

I can't decide if I like this or if it annoys the hell out of me.

on my first listen right now, felt very "this is really good and will reward multiple listens" until "newspaper" lifted me off the fucking ground and now "heavy balloon" is killing me. this is really, really good.

just want to say i really like this album too. "Relay", in particular - i have no idea how she came up with the vocal rhythm of the chorus, it seems like it wouldn't work at all, and yet by the 4th time around it's the center of the song

definitely worth hearing this on headphones or a good system because the low-end percussion *knocks*

I will say that on my first pass through this album, I was constantly noticing the percussion (in a good way).

This is some amazing lofi/hifi shit. I feel it opens up flawlessly but there is a bit of a lull for me with Relay and Rack of His, but this is nitpicking a pretty outstanding record. The editing and arrangements are so intricate yet playful! This was made by someone who loves making music. I love how she calls them percussion orchestras.

It's referenced above, but here is the incredible New Yorker profile.

Relay is my standout after five or so listens.

Miriam Makeba's Sangoma seems a good analogue for what she's doing here.

One listen through, totally unfamiliar with Fiona Apple outside of the popular song or two back in the 90s, very impressed. I like the storytelling, the vocal performances, the energy, the sequencing. But so far I'm mainly focused on the literal *sound* of it all. The simple and unadorned most everything is recorded is combined with incredibly meticulous spatial staging--resulting in a sound that is exceptionally intimate but ultra-widescreen at the same time.

More than usual, I almost can't help but "see" the sounds as almost structural, latticed across the stage, almost with different shapes in different parts of the stage. (The theatricality of the music and presentation seems to contribute to that, too).

I'm not a writer, so I doubt I'll really have anything to say about this album. But I feel the itch to make a mix in response to it of sounds/songs it calls to mind. . .

The percussive noises at the start of newspaper sound like ping pong being played in the purple world in twin peaks s3

I like that "Relay" does the same trick as "Once In A Lifetime" (albeit in a more brutal fashion), keeping the same pulse but offsetting where the downbeat lies for the verses (and as a bonus, switching into compound time, very cool)

all the people who have never listened to The Idler Wheel... really should get on that

I will physically fight people who hate this album.

karl was half right after all

There’s a lot to celebrate!

I like that "Relay" does the same trick as "Once In A Lifetime" (albeit in a more brutal fashion), keeping the same pulse but offsetting where the downbeat lies for the verses (and as a bonus, switching into compound time, very cool)

― we have no stan but to choice (flamboyant goon tie included), Saturday, April 18, 2020 4:35 PM (three hours ago)

Am obsessed with this and the effect it has. Instant insanity.

Never heard, but "Hot Knife" (which I think was from that record) was my favourite thing that she'd done so far.

― Maria Edgelord (cryptosicko), Saturday, April 18, 2020 5:47 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Hot Knife is the closer and to me it's completely the jumping off point for this album which feels very much like a continued, but deeper exploration, of the sound world created on The Idler Wheel...

How many boring men have called this album “autobiographical” so far.

have any of them also used the word “confessional”

U guys can survey the reviews here - https://www.metacritic.com/music/fetch-the-bolt-cutters/fiona-apple/critic-reviews

is it a confessional tour de force

sadly I will never buy the LP thanks to my weird aversion to 2xLP albums that run a hair over 50 minutes

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.)

two songs on a side I'd rather die
― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.)

there are 13 songs though. I don't think they cut a third of the album for the vinyl release.

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, splitting an album up like this can be a pain in the ass because of constant side flipping, on the other hand, I think those generally sound better and are higher quality transfers.

sometimes this is more annoying than others. like the Seer by Swans; that's an annoying album to listen to on vinyl. Or the Peter Gabriel 45 RPM pressings. But in this case I think there appear to be enough songs per side that it won't irritate me much.

Crazy solution here re: 2LP... Buy the CD?

; )

Is this an appropriate space to address the weird gender politics that have emerged in the wake of the album's critical reception? Or is that too dire a topic?

that phenomenon makes me way too depressed to ever talk about it but i say go for it if you want

weirdly i'm feeling very thankful that ilx is least worst place to talk about the fiona apple record online

"I wasn't afraid of the bullies and that just made the bullies worse" only on track 2 and yeah, this certainly owns

Shameika and Newspaper are my current favorites

Those plus Heavy Balloon.

I've listened to it several times (under, admittedly, less than ideal conditions)... "Under the Table" is the one that sticks in my head (it's the "keeper" for me, I guess). I think the first four tracks are v good, and then I kind of lose the thread after that. There are moments in later songs that grab me, like the opening groove in "Heavy Balloon."

circling back to say that in my limited musical experience no one writes bitterness like fiona and i love it

I like that "Relay" does the same trick as "Once In A Lifetime" (albeit in a more brutal fashion), keeping the same pulse but offsetting where the downbeat lies for the verses (and as a bonus, switching into compound time, very cool)

― we have no stan but to choice (flamboyant goon tie included), Saturday, April 18, 2020 6:35 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Oh nooo, I thought we established that Once in a Lifetime doesn't do this! And I don't think this one does either. The downbeat is exactly the same, the phrases are even, it's just that the melody starts on an upbeat. I think we must just hear rhythm/arrangements very differently!

whatever it does (and maybe we can all try transcribing the rhythm and compare) it makes my heart flip