Waxahatchee
Ivy Tripp
Reviewed by: Lauren Rosier
Ivy Tripp is Katie Crutchfield’s third record under the moniker Waxahatchee following 2013’s Cerulean Salt and her 2012 debut American Weekend. Crutchfield is a singer-songwriter who plays awesome indie rock music and Ivy Tripp is not an exception.
The record opens with the electric guitar laden “Breathless” that is reminiscent of a 90’s alternative rock tune with Crutchfield’s voice similar to The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan. The first three songs sound somehow similar, yet have their own individual vibe. Crutchfield’s lyrics are like yarn by the way they weave so easily in and out of one of another. “Under a Rock” begins with acoustic element and then breaks into full fledged rock song that is filled with a great deal of angst: ‘Maybe you got your head caught in a ditch last night / I got to you, imparting / Now you’re someone else’s mess tonight / And I got upset, I told you twice / That I know how to break inside / The brick house you wear around your cranium / you wear it like a crown’.
Following that, minus the grittiness and lo-fi sound on “The Dirt”, Crutchfield mellows out a bit on the rest of the record. “La Loose” is a catchy, upbeat tune with a steady beat kept by the drum machines. “Stale By Noon” is a mellow, simple, keyboard arrangement where Crutchfield sings about life: ‘Simple things will light me up / I can imitate some kind of love / Or I can see it for what it is and stop kidding myself..’ Crutchfield’s able to show off her soft side with songs like “Air” and “Summer of Love”.
Rating: Listenable
