Fiona Apple’s new album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, arrives eight years after her last studio album, 2012’s The Idler Wheel, and follows some recent headline-grabbing moments, from Jennifer Lopez dancing to her 1996 track “Criminal” in last year’s Hustlers, to her hilarious stories of quitting cocaine after an unbearable night with Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson. There are elements of the album that have already grabbed headlines, too, from the use of dog barks and kitchen instruments as percussion, to the fact that Cara Delevingne sings backing vocals on it. Beyond these memeable moments, though, Fetch the Bolt Cutters is a huge evolutionary leap into the new for Apple’s raw lyricisim, songwriting, instrumentation, and performance. The music is experimental yet domestic, its lyrics informal yet exact.
Elsewhere this week, Rina Sawayama releases her fantastic debut Sawayama; DaBaby drops his second studio album Blame it on DaBaby, featuring collaborations with Roddy Ricch, Future, and Megan Thee Stallion; and Sonikku lines up one of 2020’s best dance-pop records with Joyful Death. Take a listen below.
