Listen to Fiona Apple’s powerful first song in five years, ‘Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)’

Fiona Apple has shared her first original track in five years, ‘Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)’ – listen to it below.

• READ MORE: Fiona Apple – ‘Fetch The Bolt Cutters’ review: an intoxicating and excoriating listen that will cut deep

Today (May 7), the acclaimed singer has shared ‘Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)’, in support of mothers facing and impacted by pre-trial detention despite being presumed innocent because they can’t afford bail.

Created in support of the Free Black Mamas DMV initiative, ‘Pretrial…’ sees Apple chronicle the struggles faced by mothers as they’re forced to stay in jail – situations she’s witnessed firsthand while volunteering as a court watcher for over two years.

She sings of a victim’s experiences: “She took on extra shifts, still couldn’t pay the bail / No danger, no danger, but she will stay in jail / She was not convicted of anything / Won’t you let her go home? / At home she’s got two kids, and Grandma needs her care / Who’ll pack the lunch and give meds if she’s not there?”

The track is accompanied by a music video that includes real footage and images of victims’ families and the women impacted by pre-trial detention in the United States, especially Black mothers.

Fiona Apple said in a press statement: “I was a court watcher for over two years. In that time, I took notes on thousands of bond hearings. Time and time again, I listened as people were taken away and put in jail, for no other reason than that they couldn’t afford to buy their way free. It was particularly hard to hear mothers and caretakers get taken away from the people who depend on them.”

“For the past five years, I have been volunteering with the Free Black Mamas DMV bailout, and I have been lucky to be able to witness the stories of women who fought for and won their freedom with the tireless and loving support of the leadership,” she continued. “I hope that this song, and the images shared with me, can help to show what is at stake when someone is kept in pretrial detention. I give this song in friendship and respect to all who have experienced the pain of pretrial detention and to the women of the group’s leadership who have taught me so much and whom I truly love.”

Donations to help those affected by pre-trial detention pay their bail and reunite them with their families can be made here. Additionally, you can find out more about the Free Black Mamas DMV here, and register here to volunteer for court watching to ensure fair rulings.

Apple has been vocal about the necessity of court watching in the past, narrating and scoring a PSA for the National Courtwatch Network in 2023.

‘Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)’ marks Fiona Apple’s first original release since her acclaimed album ‘Fetch The Bolt Cutters’ five years ago.

In a four-star review of 2020’s ‘Fetch The Bolt Cutters’, Charlotte Krol wrote for NME: “‘Fetch The Bolt Cutters’ will cut straight to the gut for Apple fans old and new and leave behind indelible messages about her life and illustrious career, now spanning two decades. It’s an intoxicating listen – and one of her best.”

The post Listen to Fiona Apple’s powerful first song in five years, ‘Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)’ appeared first on NME.