Fetch The Bolt Cutters

Fetch The Bolt Cutters is the fifth studio album and her first release since 'The Idler Wheel' in 2012. The album was recorded from 2015 to 2020, largely at Apple's home in Venice Beach. It was produced and performed by Apple alongside Amy Aileen Wood, Sebastian Steinberg and Davíd Garza; recording consisted of long, often-improvised takes with unconventional percussive sounds.

Fetch The Bolt Cutters has been noted for its experimental approach to pop music. It defies genre categorisation, and critics have noted its originality. Nevertheless, it has been compared to the works of Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits, Nina Simone, and Kate Bush, who is quoted on the title track.

The album often rejects popular music's traditional verse-chorus structure. The unpredictable songs feature looped sections, sudden stops and tempo changes. Apple's long-time bassist Sebastian Steinberg compared the album to Apple's 2012 song "Hot Knife", describing it as "very raw and unslick". It has been noted as less melancholy than Apple's past work, with the up-tempo songs being described as "funny, angry, and at times triumphant". The album features frequent improvisation, as well as background noise such as the barking of dogs, largely as a result of its home recording.