Album Rating: 3.5

The last four tracks, Can't Do Much, and Lilacs are phenomenal, the rest are eh. I don't know what that translate to as a rating, but Ruby Falls is beautiful so that's enough to keep me coming back

Album Rating: 5.0

Those are some fightin' words against Oxbow and Lilacs ;-) Let me know if it ends up growing, seems right up your alley. So far the usual Americana/country sput crew is pretty split on this however. Half think it's just decent, half think it's amazing.

Album Rating: 4.5

Fire is almost my SOTY so far, I've listened to it that many times! I do enjoy the album but was hoping for a bit more... variety? surprises? Not sure. Really solid though and definitely growing on me. War, Lilacs, Ruby Falls and St. Cloud are all fantastic.

Album Rating: 3.5

this sounds great, real excited to check it out later today

Album Rating: 3.5

So this started as a solid like 3.4 and grew to like a 3.8, but it has also become my go to album for when I walk my newly adopted dog in the morning. So if anything I've got such a positive emotional connection to it at this point that I love it more each listen and I don't know if that's the music or my dog speaking lol

Album Rating: 4.0

Really dug her first two but never got into the more recent records, but will still give this a look

Album Rating: 3.5

Alright, longish post incoming (so long I had to split it in two - don’t think that’s ever happened to me).



I gave this a second spin today on my government-permitted daily walk. It's a beautiful day where I am, and fairly warm, which is the perfect weather for an album like this. Given that, my impressions today could be influenced by the environment in which I listened. (But is that a problem? I don't think so - only if you're committed to "objectivity", whatever that is.) That said, I take back a lot of what I said yesterday.



Foremost, I'm in the same boat as Doof in that this is a comfort style for me. That's both good and bad. On one hand, that means it's really easy for me to enjoy this. On the other hand, it's pretty hard for something like this to really impress me. My opinion on an album like this is entirely dependent on its emotional impact, so in a sense this could be a 2.5 for me just as easily as it could be a 5. But in any case, this feels very nostalgic. This could easily have been released between 1995 and 2005 in this exact form and I wouldn't bat an eye (and if I'm being completely honest, I'd probably be more readily willing to slap a 4+ on this if it were released then). That's not a problem though, because I'd also say this is a very timeless sound, so it doesn't sound dated or throwback-y or hackneyed. Despite what I said before, from a stylistic perspective, this is alt-country through and through. Knowing that the artist previously produced alt/indie rock, that means this is in danger of reading as a genre exercise. But if this were a debut album, I wouldn't feel that way, and importantly, the album is clearly lovingly made and as a result it feels very genuine.

Album Rating: 3.5

I paid a bit more attention to lyrics this time around, and they didn't overly impress me, but I feel they could grow. This section, from "Ruby Falls", stood out though:



And when the picture fades the years will make us calm

I'll sing a song at your funeral

Laid in the Mississippi gulf

Or back home at Waxahatchee Creek

You know you got a friend in me

I'm an angler married to the sea



These (with their reference to the source of the band name and which a quick search shows is near Crutchfield's childhood home) make it clear that there is a strong element of nostalgia here and that gives the album a very homey feel, which is something I really appreciate in this style.



"Saint Cloud" is my favorite so far. It closes the album out on a wonderful note (also a very nostalgic song). "Oxbow" might be my least favorite - it's kind of uneventful, feels like an extended intro and doesn't seem to quite fit with the rest here, but maybe that's just me. A few pointed to "Hell" as a weak spot but I don't think so at all, if there's a dip in quality here it's probably and "Witches" and "War", but those could grow on me too. But this is really consistent, every song is at least good I'd say, even if they're not super individually memorable.



In general though this is a really, really solid release and I think it could grow on me a lot, if I give it time. A comfort zone album for sure, but sometimes that's just what I need. Gonna let it sink in a bit more before I comment further.

Album Rating: 5.0

At the risk of my reply not living up to the depth of your comment, I'll certainly say that I agree with a lot of what you said about this being a comfort zone - I think it felt safer to me on my first few listens hence why it started as a 3.5, but as time progressed the little nuances in her voice started to separate from the rest of the atmosphere's consistency, and it gave me just the dose of personality I needed to start attaching memories to the music. Right after I wrote this review (timestamp: about 4 listens in), I gave it a 5th listen while sitting in my house and I started to worry that I got overexcited - it didn't blow me away at all and my initial 3.5 felt more appropriate. Then of course, this afternoon, I drove home from work with this blasting out the windows and sure enough it was contending for my current AOTY and it made me feel free in a way that I haven't since the pre-quarantine days. Safe to say that a 4 is perhaps the safer amalgamation of my various experiences with this, but I'm also okay with rating based on what this has the potential to be based upon the listening atmosphere.

Album Rating: 4.5

Feeling like this is a mixed bag of an album at the moment, but I fell asleep last night with Can't Do Much stuck in my head and it was still there when I woke up this morning, so that's something

I like Lilacs

Album Rating: 5.0

Yeah Lilacs is top 3 here for certain

Actually surprising it's not getting more mention

Without going into much detail I like a lot of her other records and I think she is a brilliant songwriter but I can not find a way to like this at all. It is basically a few bad pop tunes and a bunch of filler. I'll admit her vocals come across strong for the most part but average production and generic musicianship seem to take away from the sonic atmosphere.I still like the project called Waxahatchee and will continue to listen to past and hopefully future releases but this here is a really bad example of the band I thought highly of.

Album Rating: 2.5

Only heard it once, so far, not sure how much I like it yet.

Lilacs is cool, though.

Album Rating: 3.0

didn't do much for me two and a half spins in, but i'll check it come daylight and see what's what

Album Rating: 4.0

@true77



fuck off

Album Rating: 5.0

So all her other albums are perfect 5's but this is a 1, the worst thing ever? Is this pass or fail or something?

Album Rating: 3.5

their ratings are literally either 5's or 1's so yeah.

If you 2 can't accept the fact that this is a poorly done 90s country pop album than that is your problem. I like Waxahatchhee very much but am willing to admit that this was a fart in church. Btw just because pitchfork says something is good that does not necessarily mean that it is. Argue amongst yourselves because I know time will not be kind to this album but her other works will be applauded

Album Rating: 3.0

You're very sure of yourself



Can I borrow your time machine?