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Reissue – Release Date – 30th April 2021
What do we hold on to from our past? What must we let go of to truly move forward? Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield spent much of 2018
reckoning with these questions and revisiting her roots for answers. The result is Saint Cloud, an intimate journey through the places
she’s been, filled with the people she’s loved. Written immediately in the period following her decision to get sober, the album is an
unflinching self-examination. This raw, exposed narrative terrain is aided by a shift in sonic arrangements as well. While her last two
records featured the kind of big guitars, well-honed noise, and battering sounds that characterized her Philadelphia scene and strongly
influenced a burgeoning new class of singer-songwriters, Saint Cloud strips back those layers to create space for Crutchfield’s voice
and lyrics. The result is a classic Americana sound with modern touches befitting an artist who has emerged as one of the signature
storytellers of her time. Many of the narratives on Saint Cloud concern addiction and the havoc it wreaks on ourselves and our loved
ones, as Crutchfield comes to a deeper understanding of love not only for those around her but for herself. This coalesces most clearly
on “Fire,” which she says was literally written in transit, during a drive over the Mississippi River into West Memphis, and serves as a
love song to herself, a paean to moving past shame into a place of unconditional self-acceptance. Over the course of Saint Cloud,
which was recorded the summer of 2019 and produced by Brad Cook (Bon Iver), Crutchfield peels back the distortion of electric guitars
to create a wider sonic palette than on any previous Waxahatchee album. It is a record filled with nods to classic country, folk-inspired
tones, and distinctly modern touches. To bolster her vision, Crutchfield enlisted Bobby Colombo and Bill Lennox, both of the Detroit
band Bonny Doon, to serve as backing band on the record, along with Josh Kaufman (Hiss Golden Messenger, Bon Iver) on guitar and
keyboards and Nick Kinsey (Kevin Morby) on drums and percussion. Saint Cloud marks the beginning of a journey for Crutchfield, one
that sees her leaving behind past vices and the comfortable environs of her Philadelphia scene to head south in search of something
new. If on her previous work Crutchfield was out in the storm, she’s now firmly in the eye of it, taking stock of her past with a clear
perspective and gathering the strength to carry onward. Track Listing: SIDE A Oxbow, Can’t Do Much, Fire, Lilacs, The Eye, Hell..
SIDE B Witches, War, Arkadelphia, Ruby Falls, St. Cloud
