Album Review: Waxahatchee - 'Saint Cloud'

Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield has been known to use music as an outlet to say exactly what she feels when she feels it - unapologetically honest in her raw and poetic storytelling. New album ‘Saint Cloud’ plays exactly to those strengths while exploring a different, more stripped back sound. 

To the backdrop of classic Americana sound sprinkled with modern touches, Katie explores life and love on her journey to sobriety - “I think all of my records are turbulent and emotional, but this one feels like it has a little dose of enlightenment. It feels a little more calm and less reckless.” 

Whether it’s country, folk or something a little more minimalistic, ‘Saint Cloud’ holds a piece for everyone and is in every aspect beautifully melodic. A true treasure for musicophiles. 

While ‘Can’t Do Much’ is a bright, uplifting ode to romance, songs like ‘Fire’ and ‘Hell’ take a more intense approach drawing attention to Katie’s powerful vocals. The album finds closure in title track ‘St. Cloud’, a stripped back, heartfelt ballad that brings us full circle, to a state of finding peace – “I might show up in a white dress, turn reluctance on its ear. If the dead just go on living, well there’s nothing left to fear. “

In ‘Saint Cloud’, Waxahatchee has found a new voice and has created a record that will stand the test of time – relevant not only in its themes of love and addiction but its astonishingly beautiful sound. 

Words by Laura Freyaldenhoven

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