It’s crazy that she was just 18 when this debut album came out. Her 2nd album “When The Pawn” is the masterpiece where she found her voice. Check it out.
Oh no, nobody’s first Fiona Apple album should be Fetch the Bolt Cutters. You kinda have to already be a die hard fan to appreciate that one. Ha. Tidal is absolutely exquisite, tho. And such a strong, bold debut. The next album, When the Pawn, is just as good. Great reaction video. Watch the “Criminal” music video too when you get a chance.
There are many people who got into Fiona based on FTBC. You don’t have to already be a “hardcore fan”. You do however need to have an appreciation for more ambitious, loopier, “less pretty” vocals and production.
I love that "Slow Like Honey" is about the song itself... how the song lures you in slow like honey, heavy with mood. Then the bridge has these wild chord shifts that snap out of the dream, until she languidly stretches across the keys and pulls us back... The way she paints the lyrics in her music throughout that song is really cool.
I told you she is amazing and you should start chronologically with her Tidal. Bolt Cutters is a musicians and fan only album, but her first three are stellar. When I first heard Lana del Rey, I thought "oh, she's like Fiona Apple"
Yeah, it’s still just an album so don’t get overhyped. It is certainly where she built up a lot of good will and why so many were so excited about Fetch the bolt cutters.
Yesss fiona is one of the best song writers ever, so much attitude and anger and her delivery and lyrics , please do when the pawn … it’s my favorite album by fiona , some of the lyrics on there is just straight up poetry 🤍
You should watch videos of her playing live! She's amazing. She's playing piano on these songs btw. Amd she wrote Never Is A Promise when she was 15 years old!
Glad you decided to give Fiona another go. ❤ Pale September is one of my absolute favorites 💯 When the Pawn is another one of hers to check out! Very LA noir vibe haha Idler Wheel is when her sounds starts get more experimental imo. Rawer production, incorporation of field recordings / “found” percussion, stuff like that. But the songs are more accessible than Fetch the Bolt Cutters. My ranking: When the Pawn The Idler Wheel Fetch the Bolt Cutters Tidal Extraordinary Machine
Sullen girl is about her being raped. When she says he took her pearl and left a empty shell of her that’s what the song is about! So glad you are giving Fiona another chance! She is amazing! Her and Madonna are my two Queens!
I still haven't connected with "Boltcutters" yet, either. But all her other albums are individual core memories in my brain. This is the stuff that formed me.
Glad you liked this one 🙂. "When The Pawn" is super good, similar to this album but more upbeat. "The Idler Wheel..." is amazing but, imo its when she starts taking a step towards the Fetch The Bolt Cutters "dog barking" sound lmao, substantially more palatable tho. And I'm with you, she lost me on Fetch The Bolt Cutters lol people seem to love it but it left me scratching my head lmao. Great reaction, always good vibes 💖
I know I'm an outlier among her fans, but Tidal is still my favorite Fiona album. I do love the whole of When the Pawn..., as well, but the smoky, jazzy, bluesy sound of Tidal is just so comfortable to me and I have never stopped listening to it. The only element I don't love (and this is carried through all her music) is the long, long, loooooonnnnnnng instrumental outros that become tedious to me. But I have heard musicians describe those as a highlight of her music and I am no musician. I appreciate and have respect for her newest albums, but like Björk, Fiona's artistic inclinations have veered away from musical instruments and lovely melodies to favor banging pots and pans and kitchen utensils, howls, squawks, growls and even dog barks to create their strange and often-uncomfortable soundscapes, and while I find these songs interesting and really do appreciate the innovation and creative impulses, I listen to Tidal-the whole album!-25 times as often as I listen to songs from The Idler Wheel or Extraordinary Machine. There's just something about, you know, music that begs repeat listening as opposed to clattering metal and wood objects. I do find it interesting that some musicians like Fiona, who demonstrate young mastery of piano, end up making music almost entirely of percussion as they progress. I'd love to hear her discuss what has driven her bang bang clickety clack evolution because I really can't relate to it.
This poor girl was attacked outside her apartment as a preteen and spent her teen and early adult years suffering from OCD and an eating disorder as a result. I think FTBC was very much her freeing herself from these and other personal and mental health issues that had been holding her back for so long. I'm curious how you'd react to FTBC after listening to the other albums. IMHO, she just got better and better over time. My judgment come from how I emotionally connected to the albums - the music is always a little eclectic and her voice is always a treat.
You're right about those long outros. When this album came out I was a Drag Queen and performed "Criminal", and when the outro started, i just took my bows and walked off stage.
I remember hanging out at Tower Records and listening to this album at a listening station. I was shocked at the grittiness of her voice in the first song because she looked so dainty in the album’s pictures. I’ve been a fan since then. 😆
I love this album, and it touches on lots of heavy things. The vocab can be a bit thick sometimes kind of like St. Vincent if you’ve ever listened to her. Carrion btw is a word for like decaying material from an animal or like a carcass
Fetch The Bolt Cutters-The Idler Wheel-When The Pawn are her trifecta of great albums imo. Tidal is a solid, cute debut album. But I prefer Fiona much more raw and adventurous. Tidal is a bit too safe and immature for me to really love. It does have a few standout tracks though.
She wrote never is a promise and several others when she was 15!!! My favorite female songwriter ever. I listened to her when Tidal came out and I was like 14. She is a part of my DNA forever. Tidal is a masterpiece 🩵
Also, for some reason no one ever mentions that Fiona definitely influenced Lana Del Rey. I love them both so much, they’re my fav women in music but Fiona is forever #1 🩵
We want Siiickbrain reaction all singles from her first album comming on the 1st December. Parasite, Die Quietly (mv) Deprecating ft. Maggie Lindemann and Psychopath (mv) I loveee your video so plss its my dream ❤️
Great album. Criminal was the biggest hit. Sullen girl was about dealing with being sexually assaulted. Carrion is one of my favorites. When the pawn... is pretty great follow up album
Her latest album (Fetch the Bolt Cutters) made every other female "edgy" artist out there seem like a simple child. That includes Eilish who's brilliant. But Apple's prodigious piano playing combined with her knack for production puts here in a different stratosphere. She can and should write a musical. That's how good she is at arranging for strings, percussion, and horns.
OMG 😱😩😍 This álbum is part of my Teenage years… she was like 17 when this álbum came out, and its so dark, so deep and intense! Some song (i think “Sulen Girl” and “the child is gone” talking about sexual abuse 🤔 Please, react to the videos from this era… “Sleep To Dream” won a VMA 97 for best video from a New artists (the speech that night is iconic!) And “Criminal” is one of the best video ever made (directed by Mark Romanek who directed “Rain” and “Bedtime story” of Madonna…) so, is a masterpiece! I Really enjoy your reaction, and I’m wanting for more Madonna reaction (the videos from “Ray of Light” era). Cariños y abrazos desde Chile 🇨🇱😊
@@bennshoutsyour fans crave more madonna! We still have 25 more years of materiel for you to get through, you only got through 11 in this past year 😂😂😂
No offense your reaction is very weird the fact that I don't know I feel like this generation doesn't understand metaphor. You all need to literally be told something and ordered understand I mean a lot of songs even if you don't know really what it means exactly to her experiences that you would at least to your experiences understand it. Shadow boxer is about someone playing you and she's called on to his game you know once my lover and now my friend oh you'll not be with me but you still want to be friends so you can knock at my door and come around whenever you feel like it when you want some and charm the pants off of me but now I've got on to your game you don't get that really
I understand metaphors, just cause I didn't vibe with every song or understand doesn't mean I don't. A sweeping statement about generations is pretty ignorant and just shows that you've become bitter in your age lol.
