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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Damien Morris

Waxahatchee: Tigers Blood review – sprightly Americana with added poise

Katie Crutchfield, AKA Waxahatchee.
Middle ground… Katie Crutchfield, AKA Waxahatchee. Photograph: Molly Matalon

“I try to write in a way that’s relatable to anyone with any problem,” Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield says of Tigers Blood. But is that what her fans want from her, or is it all a bit country Coldplay? The American singer-songwriter’s last Waxahatchee album, 2020’s Saint Cloud, was a critical hit and career gamechanger. That sort of acclaim can lead to artists overthinking a follow-up, torn between more of the same and the shock of the new.

Crutchfield rides a middle road here. Same producer yet different band; same sprightly Americana vibe yet more emotionally placid than its predecessor, which recounted a troubled reckoning with her newfound sobriety. “I make a living crying, it ain’t fair,” she wryly notes on opener 3 Sisters, but there’s barely a wobbling lip here, let alone tears.

There’s little of the strung-out singing and barn-burning drama that lit up Saint Cloud standouts such as Fire and Can’t Do Much. In the profit ledger, Crutchfield’s vocals are poised and precise – her best yet, caressing flamboyantly poetic lyrics. The band is limber, handling everything from the atypically heavy, spiteful Bored to the languid title track. Coldplay would be proud.

Watch the video for Bored by Waxahatchee.
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