Waxahatchee
Ivy Tripp
MERGE
7/10
Katie Crutchfield’s latest LP under the Waxahatchee name, Ivy Tripp, builds off the universal vulnerabilities of 2013’s Cerulean Salt. These thirteen tracks might seem more raucous than Salt at times, but Crutchfield’s unparalleled sound remains a relentless source of chills, especially on “Air” and “Half Moon.” Paired with brutally honest lyrics, Crutchfield is the voice of brute force mixed with instability on Ivy Tripp—like a person taking a long, hard look into a mirror and smashing a fist into it. It’s perfectly plausible with that volatile power behind her words that a moonlit confessional like “Stale By Noon” can be sequenced right before a country-punk thrasher like “The Dirt.” Crutchfield’s new neuroses are associated with the feelings of being unmoored in the middle of the seas of adulthood. It’s a harrowing journey at times, but one that is inflected with efficient lyricism and a true poise for the punk and Americana genres.
