Labels: Don Giovanni
Review by: MH
This is a record that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on. Katie Crutchfield is someone who can barely do wrong for me based on her previous output and I absolutely loved “American Weekend” – haven’t played many records more than that one in the last year so expectations were high for me here and this one is no letdown either. There are 13 new songs here and it’s quite different to the last album in that it’s much less sparse instrumentally. It is also less raw and has a crisper, cleaner production but it is a more varied record than the last one. Some of the songs are full band and on the whole it’s a little perkier than a lot of “American Weekend” although the lyrics are still very personal, downbeat and open. The others providing input on this record include her sister Alison and a couple more from Swearin’. Some of the songs on here get towards P.S. Eliot territory although the 90s indie rock feel about some of them make me think more of bands like Madder Rose. She has a voice that I can listen to endlessly – I love the slightly raspy moments and she belts it out a bit more on the rockier tunes here. At times, the guitar sound is absolutely lovely like on the gorgeous “Swan Dive” which may be the best song on here. This record really excels on some of the sparser, minimalist songs again too. I have seen a lot of comparisons to Liz Phair and they are certainly not without merit. As well as “Swan Dive”, “Brother Bryan” is a great song – a moody track in which Katie’s vocals ride over a drumbeat and slow, prominent bassline. It also ends on a high with the brilliantly fragile “You’re Damaged”. Spectacular – absolutely love it.