Waxahatchee’s fourth album Out in the Storm sees Katie Crutchfield’s songwriting given a studio boost resulting in a more polished, well-rounded outing than its predecessors. Supposedly the album was recorded after a slightly turbulent time for Crutchfield around the release of Ivy Tripp, with Crutchfield now finding herself in a place of strength and clarity. This is the sound of someone at peace with themselves and the result is an empowering listen.

The album has the feel of a big pop-rock album, but there’s a lot more at work here. Katie Crutchfield’s songwriting is flawless. There’s been real care in how these songs have been put together resulting in a very sharp, layered finished product. There’s no fat on the songs either, every guitar riff and break all have purpose, there isn’t a sense of having things on there for the sake of it. Each detail makes sense within the context of the song and all sounds very natural.

It’s worth a mention to just highlight the guitar work on the album as it’s excellent. The production serves it well and the lead lines keep the songs flowing as well as interesting. Katie Harkin of Sky Larkin as well as being the touring guitarist for Sleater-Kinney is playing the lead guitar here and, for me, is definitely one of the strongest points on the album.

Songs like ‘Never Been Wrong’ and ‘No Question’ are definitely highlights for me. These feel like Crutchfield straying towards a new sound. They are heavier and more riff based songs and work brilliantly along with her vocal (which is sounding at its strongest on this album).

I think the flaw of Out in the Storm could be its own strive for perfection, the line between objectivity and personal preference does blur a little here so bear with me. There’s a huge amount of sheen on the album and the production and songwriting is spot on. For me, this is where it suffers slightly, it sounds a little too well put together. Its flaw comes from its perfection which curbs some of the excitement for me, I’d love to hear a Waxahatchee record with a little more bite to it.

For listeners and fans of Waxahatchee, this record will be seen as a triumph and I do think it’s the best Katie Crutchfield’s songs have sounded. In terms of Waxahatchee records each release gets stronger and stronger, I’ll always look forward to hearing the next record and you can really hear the songwriting and musicianship grow on each album. I feel that for fans that have been following Waxahatchee from the off, they have had the privilege of watching an artist grow. Cliché as it may sound, the way she releases albums and the honesty in her songwriting genuinely allows listeners to go on a journey with her, she shares experiences with her listeners and we can hear her development as an artist on each album, which is a rare but brilliant thing.

Chris Middleton

Website: waxahatcheemusic.com
Facebook: facebook.com/waxahatchee
Twitter : twitter.com/k_crutchfield