Fiona Apple’s Triumphant Return
Fiona Apple is finally, finally back. Apple’s new single, “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)”, is her first original song since she released her opus, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, back in 2020. Bolt Cutters received a wave of positive critical response on release, receiving a rare ten from Pitchfork. Of course, critical reception is not everything, but this review certainly marks the hype and praise Bolt Cutters has garnered, both on first release and since then. Apple has been featured on new singles and albums since Bolt Cutters, but original songs have not popped up. Her appearances include playing piano on Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways, a cover of Sharon Van Ette’ns “Love More,” a duet with Phoebe Bridgers of “Silent Night,” on Bridgers’ Christmas EP, a collaboration with Bear McCreary on a song for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, a feature on The Waterboys’ single “Letters from an Unknown Girlfriend,” and most recently, a cover of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold.”
Cover of Fiona Apple’s latest single “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home).”
The unique hook of “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)” revolves around a cause near and dear to Apple’s heart. In 2021, Apple began donating and working alongside CourtWatch PG after participating in a campaign called Gasping for Justice. Court-watching is the process of observing and reporting individual judges who have been flagged on their behavior in court, including performance issues like bias, temperaments, and general courtroom management. This is not only done by volunteers, but jurists. Several court watching organizations exist across the United States, but CourtWatch PG is based in Maryland though their reach extends to other states. Apple also provided narration and music for a short film about court watching with the goal of expanding the National Courtwatch Network.
“Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)” is a haunting depiction of the cases Apple has viewed as a court watcher. While the plot of “Pretrial” is likely an amalgamation of the cases Apple has watched over the past four years, Apple weaves a narrative that listeners will easily be sucked into. The unnamed protagonist of “Pretrial” cannot afford to pay her bail to stay out of jail. Despite her lack of conviction, she is not able to return home to care for her two children and grandmother. Her children’s father is out of the picture, killed and framed for a crime post-murder. Verse 3 sees two months of past due rest, her grandmother in the hospital, the children missing school, and their eventual retrieval by CPS. The protagonist receives the news of her family within the jail, but with no money for a new phone card, she is not able to contact anyone. After months of not being able to go home, her hearing finally arrives, with the only witness being the cop at the scene of her alleged crime. The cop doesn’t bother showing up, resulting in the charges against her being dropped. But the song ends with a haunting outro. The system would not let her go home and now that she is finally released “now there’s no more home.”
This new release does not have the complex orchestral song that many of her other original tracks have, but the driving percussive rhythm of the drums on “Pretrial” harken back to other songs in her discography, with songs off of Bolt Cutters specifically coming to mind. Apple’s lyricism has long been a strong suit, perfectly crafting imagery and narratives that stick in your mind for days. While not as dark as “For Her,” “Pretrial” definitively aligns with this haunting part of Apple’s discography. “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)” is a triumph, not just for Apple, but for the cause that inspired the new track. Hopefully “Pretrial” will inspire Apple’s listeners to investigate court watching and participate in the practice themselves.
