GutterPutter

Waxahatchee is the musical project of the Alabama-born artist Katie Crutchfield who, since 2010, had risen to become one of the top alt-country names in indie music. The melancholic focus around departures and nature made her a favourite among listeners as one of the top lyricists in the United States and her ability to balance ages-old thoughtfulness with contemporary references make for a distinct name. Helping her to sharpen her skills is that of how she is living with her significant other, Kevin Morby, who is also a prominent singer-songwriter in today’s American South country/folk scene.

Following the acclaim that enshrines 2020’s Saint Cloud came a four-year hiatus that saw Crutchfield working with fellow musician Jess Williamson for 2022’s I Walked with You a Ways and a guest appearance on a christmas Philly Specials record the year after. In many ways, it is an eventful break from her impassioned lineage five records (now six) that saw her hone her pastoral songwriting while moving between much of the South of the US. With how indebted country music is in its coverage of rural living, it would be interesting to see where she tries to take her music into.

Now, Tigers Blood comes knocking for many of the fans who are hoping to hear more of her solo material especially with how transparent it uses the Americana style. Driven largely by its acoustic guitar, much of the themes lie in its coverage of Kansas where Crutchfield has frequently spent her time during the recording session. At the core of the album comes individualism and the strains it has on longstanding relationships. Starting off with the Macbethian ‘3 Sisters’, the focus lies on either a toxic or a dysfunctional relationship with the formation of itself as the modern fairy tale as its subtext. Alternatives like ‘Ice Cold’ and ‘Lone Star Lake’ play with fantasising respectively through either explicit mentioning of tropes or implicit literary imaginings.

While the acoustic guitar remains the centrepiece in much of folk and country music, there are a handful of instrumental and production extensions that harken to the Americana. ‘Right Back to It’ sees the banjo being used as a substitute to the rhythm guitar which adds to the tranquillity of Crutchfield’s singing. ‘Evil Spawn’ reaches into heartland rock with its riveting drumming and layered vocals that echoes the aspirations of Bruce Springstein. The higher mixing on the guitar in ‘Crimes of the Heart’ ensures that we can get to pay attention to the story around bearing witness to a close friend’s self-destruction. It’s reminiscent of the Weakerthans’ Virtute the Cat saga albeit one without an anthropomorphic perspective.

The emphasis on relationships and its intersectional problems around one’s identity does pose some issues where the potential for nuance feels overlooked. ‘Bored’ does have an admittedly catchy chorus and its twangy guitar riff is a treat to listen to, yet it fails to fully expand on its scientific semantics. This is especially all the more disappointing given its deeper focus on religion and its impact on a romantic relationship. ‘Crowbar’ suffers from a similar problem with a much more stilted metaphor of the titular tool to denote getting out of a relationship. Lastly, you have yourself a bit of meandering sentimentality in ‘365’ where the use of piano for feels points is undermined by its muted mixing which means that it might not have landed its impact as hard as it could have.

Nevermind the strumming in ‘Burns Out at Night’, the road trip-esque theme that pervades ‘The Wolves’, and the male-female vocal harmonies of the title track, Tigers Blood is a nice piece of addition into alt-country. Waxahatchee has concocted a work that looks into weaving our identity to the complications it can have on our relationship. I would not say that it’s the most original work in the whole genre although credit where it’s due, Crutchfield’s style didn’t come off as awfully derivative of any country/folk acts that I know of. If you are a fan of a distinct twist in country music, then Tigers Blood might be the record for you even if it could use a lot more groundbreaking turns alongside some refinement in its songwriting process. Of course, this does not erode the reality that she remains as one of the definite darlings of the genre and that regardless, it is very well worth your time to check her out whether there is a chance.

3.8/5