“If I'm a broken record, write it in the dust, babe!” One of 2020’s finest albums; Katie Crutchfield’s well-traveled collection of recovery tunes. Throughout the last year, I’ve found myself walking down E. 7th Street or taking the M Train home, recalling their mention in lines on Saint Cloud. It’s funny, because the album is named after her father’s hometown in Florida, and the tone throughout the record is distinctly southern, but this to me is in part a New York record. The duality is constant throughout, mixing snapshots of her youth in Alabama and her 20s in NYC and Philly, with a brief, yet sobering moment in Barcelona. From the heated yearning of “Lilac,” the Dolly Parton-influenced badassery of “Hell,” to the lucidity of “Oxbow,” Waxahatchee takes you through a true Americana journey to claim independence. 11 tracks on TTL exclusive split-colored vinyl (modeled after the pickup on the cover!), recommended.

• Turntable Lab exclusive
• 'pickup split' colored vinyl
• includes giant foldout poster
• printed inner sleeve
• limited edition of 1500
• music label: Merge Records 2021
• TTL Editions 055

reviewed by SHH! 10/2021