Fetch the Bolt Cutters - Fiona Apple

One of the reviews I read of "The Idler Wheel is Wiser..." said that, while the album is quite amazing and brilliant, it wasn't always pretty. That album took a few spins to come to terms with her fans, and is now classified as a five star classic. Then comes "Fetch the Bolt Cutters", rushed in as a release to her fans at a difficult time. That was a good move, because this album needs repeated listens. It isn't always easy, and possibly more bare and at times unpretty than "the Pawn..." was. But it is as original as it comes. She pushes boundaries within a minimalist, spare concept. She's been moving away from obvious singles - although for me both "hot knife" and "Jonathan" were two of the best songs of that year. Here, while "Shameika" is the closest to a single, my favourite tracks (identified as excellent ) from the album were "Rack of his", "Ladies" and "Drumset". "Shameika", "I want you to love me", "Heavy Balloon" and "Cosmonauts" are very good songs - and there are no average or bad or filler songs here - Just instances of Fiona being more adventurous and ambitious than in other tracks. Her vocals are rawer than ever I recall it to be. "Rack of his", is a case point - the sentiment is felt with intense and the listener gets the chills when she goes, "'cause you know, you won't like it - when there's nothing to do".

Musically she has the overall direction of percussion heavy, spare instrumentation as that of "When the Pawn", but yet this is more ambitious, intense and bold music, which even her ardent fans will need time over to come to terms with. Especially so, since, this will be compared to her, relatively more accessible ( and that says a lot ) previous album.
(****1/2)