Waxahatchee - "Out In The Storm"

Waxahatchee, aka Katie Crutchfield, is a folk act that's been around for a few years now.  Now, I've had the pleasure of seeing her perform twice and trust me she puts on a damn fine show.  In 2012, she made her very Low-Fi debut with "American Weekend".  To be honest, this was an album that took me years to really appreciate.  The production on this album is certainly grainy and tough to sit through at times.  But in the years since it's come out, it's actually grown to be one of my favorite projects of Katie's.  The songs on here are charming and sweet, namely "Rose,1956", and "Be Good".  On Waxahatchee's next album, 2013's "Cerulean Salt", Katie went electric on us.  The results, however, were a little mixed for me.  Don't get me wrong, "Coast To Coast" and "Lips and Limbs" have become some of my favorite Waxahatchee tracks.  But other songs on here to me just felt to me like Katie was still getting used to her much more electric sound still.  Thankfully, Katie got it right with 2015's "Ivy Trip".  On this album, Katie continued to stick to the more electric material.  However, she sounded so much more natural and confident on this album, and the result was some of her best songs yet like "The Dirt" and "Air".  It's been a few years since we've heard from Katie, but Waxahatchee is back with a new album.  These singles teasing up this release have been confident and strong, and I can't wait to dive deeper.

( The song that made me LOVE Waxahatchee)

    This album starts off with the very steady “Never Been Wrong”, and instantly it’s obvious that Katie’s sticking with the same sound that she’s been working with for a few years now.  There’s almost a slight sort of post-grunge feel to this that sounds great, but for me, the instrumentals have always come second in Katie’s music.  Nothing against her instrumentals, I’ve always just felt like she’s such a commanding performer that she often shines so much more than her instrumentals.  Her performance here is no different, and it’s pretty damn stunning.  Over the years, Katie’s vocals have evolved so much, and come off so smokey and strong here.  Even as far as lyrics go, there’s some serious gold here.  One seriously brilliant line that sticks out to me, is one where Katie goes “Everyone will hear me complain, everyone will pity my pain.  You’ll play the defense, avoiding my nonsense”.  Katie Crutchfield over the years has become a true force in indie songwriting, and this track is certainly no different, making “Never Been Wrong” a very confident intro.  Then we have “8 Ball”, which honestly caught me off guard.  Like I said, instrumentals usually come second for me when I’m listening to Waxahatchee.  But I do have to commend Katie for really shaking things up here.  I like the sort of Country/Western vibe on this one, which is only made stronger by Katie’s very rebellious lyrics.  But for all of you classic Waxahatchee fans, “8 Ball” does remain breezy and airy, and I love Katie’s more subdued vocals that add to this one's already strong atmosphere.  This is a fantastic track, and lyrically this continues to be a real standout in Katie’s discography.   Now, for all of the years I’ve listened to Katie, I’ve always felt like she needed one track that people could instantly identify her with.  Honestly, I believe she's found that with the absolutely stunning “Silver”.  The lyrics here are very visual, and while the hook may be her simplest ever, damn is it ever memorable.  Listening to “Silver” just felt like I was listening to something so obviously good, and something she probably should have done years ago.  Nonetheless, this track is incredible, and I’m glad she made it.  Not to mention, I love just how punchy and rigid the instrumental is.  Then we have the much moodier “Recite Remorse”, which is made even more powerful with the edition of that seriously eerie church organ.  But as these tracks roll onwards, I feel like Katie just keeps sounding better and better.  Her vocals on this one are just so gigantic and powerful, especially among the very bare atmosphere.  Not to mention, so far on this album, Katie’s lyrics have had such a fire to them.  All of these tracks seem to one way or another have come from some pretty huge life experiences, for better and for worse.  And on “Recite Remorse”, Katie’s lyrical performance is no different.  It’s made even more powerful when the instrumental here picks up with these very pouting drums that make “Recite Remorse” truly epic.  So far, Katie has completely outdone herself.  

    “Sparks Fly” up next is probably the folkiest thing I’ve heard here so far.  But to be honest, it’s a sound that I was worried wouldn’t work for Katie at all.  But it works GREAT.   This track, like so many others, has such a grandness to them, which is something I honestly wasn’t expecting to hear.  Don't get me wrong, I love to hear it.  But when I think about the shy, young Katie Crutchfield we met on “American Weekend”, this is pretty mind blowing.  Not to mention, “Sparks Fly” might lyrically be my favorite track on the album, with a whole lot of the album’s punchiest and most commanding moments on display.  Katie then brings back that sort of Alternative Country vibe we got before with “Brass Beam”.  But it’s once again Katie’s stunning lyricism that seals the show.  Her lyrics here are some of her most autobiographical, and that’s honestly where she always shines the most.  Katie on “Brass Beam” is at her most fiery, as she goes “I had to go, I put it out like a cigarette.  I’d never be a girl you’d like or trust or you’d respect.  This album title was certainly a good pick Katie, she certainly does sound like she’s been through quite a storm.  Up next, Katie brings in probably the densest instrumental we’ve heard in some time on “Hear You”.  It’s almost a little too dense, however, as it takes a little away from Katie’s performance.  And sadly, that very thick buzzing is just a little annoying for me.  However, I do think her very melodic and explosive performance on this track does save things.  And as far as a hook goes, “Hear You” has one of the most memorable of the entire album.  But like I feared, the straight up folk jam that is “A Little More” doesn’t do much for me at all.  I don’t know why, but I really feel like Katie has outgrown this sound completely.  Her performances have become so huge and commanding over the years, and hearing a track like this just comes off a little awkward for me.  However, I do think Katie’s vocals are still commendable and lyrically this is certainly solid.  But at the end of the day, I really wish this packed the same fire as the rest of the album.  

    Katie, however, picks herself up very quickly and gets right back to the explosive nature of this album with “No Question”.  This track is absolutely gigantic.  Hell, Katie on this one sounds like she’s ready to rip someone's head right off.  It’s still the Katie Crutchfield we all know however.  “No Question” is still expertly crafted and incredibly well presented.  And for such a late album track, I can’t help but be seriously impressed.  Sadly though, I really wasn’t feeling this album’s finale, “Fade”.  Like the previous “A Little More”, I feel like Katie has completely outgrown this sound.  I mean seriously, I feel like Katie has done this track so many times in her career.  Thankfully though, Katie HAS outdone herself as far as lyrics go, and as far as that goes this track is perfect.  Even some of the instrumentals that occasionally float through the background are pretty damn nice.  But overall, for me, I wish “Fade” was a little bit more epic to end this album off.  

Rating: 8.4/10

Give A Listen To: “Silver, “No Question”, “Sparks Fly”, “Brass Beam”

Overall Thoughts:  While this is one of Katie Crutchfield's shortest albums to date, it's concise, it's strong, and most importantly it's confident.  On Katie's first few album's, she seemed so shy and quiet. But the material on here shows Katie as one of the strongest songwriters in the indie game right now.  Not to mention, this is one of Katie's most instrumentally diverse albums yet.  It's wonderful.