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Jul 14, 2017 Waxahatchee By Matthew Berlyant

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In the past, Waxahatchee, the solo project of former P.S. Eliot singer/songwriter Katie Crutchfield, was easy to like, but hard to love. Though her previous three albums have songs that rival anything on here, she’s never made an artistic statement so strong from start to finish. Of course, it helps that over the course of time from 2011 debut American Weekend (recorded solo) to this, her fourth album as Waxahatchee, the project has morphed from a solo one to a full band effort. And as such, it features contributions from her sister Allison on keyboards, lead guitarist Katie Harkin (of Sleater-Kinney’s touring band), monster drummer Ashley Arnwine of the duo Pinkwash, and bassist Katherine Simonetti. That’s a murderer’s row of talent right there, but ultimately this is about Katie, her songs and her personal growth. Yes, this is a breakup album and at times, it is angry and accusative. Yet for every moment like the stunning opener “Never Been Wrong,” there are moments of sublime beauty like “A Little More” and “Fade.” It is an album that looks inward as all of her previous work does, but it’s not afraid to look outward as well at the course of events in her life over a few years.

It’s also wonderful that with this, her second album on the venerable, supportive, and nurturing Merge label, Crutchfield is coming into her own as an artist and musician and making the best music of her already lengthy career (which stretches back to the mid ‘00s band The Ackleys).

Read our review of Out of the Storm.

www.mergerecords.com/waxahatchee

www.facebook.com/waxahatchee/

www.twitter.com/k_crutchfield

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