Waxahatchee – Ivy Tripp (2015) [FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]

The follow up to 2013’s critically lauded ‘Cerulean Salt’, ‘Ivy Tripp’ drifts confidently from its predecessor and displays a more informed and powerful recognition of where Katie Crutchfield (Waxahatchee) currently finds herself. The previous themes of loss of youth and coming of age have been replaced with self control and sheer honesty; “My life has changed a lot in the last two years, and it’s been hard for me to process my feelings other than by writing songs,” says Crutchfield. “I think a running theme [of Ivy Tripp] is steadying yourself on shaky ground and reminding yourself that you have control in situations that seem overwhelming.”

Recorded and engineered by Kyle Gilbride of Wherever Audio at Crutchfield’s home on New York’s Long Island – with drums recorded in the gym of a local elementary school – Ivy Tripp presents a more developed and grown up version of Waxahatchee; “The title Ivy Tripp is really just a term I made up for directionless-ness, specifically of the 20-something, 30-something, 40-something of today, lacking regard for the complaisant life path of our parents and grandparents. I have thought of it like this: Cerulean Salt is a solid and Ivy Tripp is a gas.

With her 2013 sophomore album Cerulean Salt, singer/songwriter Katie Crutchfield’s solo vehicle Waxahatchee came into its own, filtering her roots in energetic punk into a set of immediately resonating songs that were equally introspective and nakedly honest. The album caught on in a huge way, with the full-band version of Waxahatchee touring internationally for the next year or so, meeting a new and growing fan base with dozens of performances. Third album Ivy Tripp sounds like the reflections of an artist coming fresh from the extreme highs and lows of accelerated personal and musical growth, with tighter performances, more direct sentiments, and an undeniable confidence that comes through even when Crutchfield is addressing aimlessness and floundering uncertainty. The album title itself a phrase Crutchfield created and referred to in interviews as “a term I made up for directionless-ness, specifically of the twenty-something, thirty-something, forty-something of today, lacking regard for the complaisant life path of our parents and grandparents.” The lost, adrift feeling that gave Ivy Tripp its name clashes with the striding boldness of the songs within. Early on, Waxahatchee was pegged as ’90s revivalism by many critics, and while that critique is reductive overall of Crutchfield’s nuanced songs, there are glimpses of hazy ’90s alt-rock glory on jangly rockers like “Under a Rock” or the loping pop harmonies of “Poison.” On these punky tracks the band evokes the same distorted guitar hookiness as the Lemonheads, Belly, or Throwing Muses did in their prime. When things get less furious, as on the electric piano-driven “Stale by Noon,” Crutchfield’s lyrical core gets more space to shine from her always honest and sometimes dark-hearted musings. Ivy Tripp accomplishes the rare feat of communicating feelings that are searching and gentle without being the least bit fragile. Born of D.I.Y. punk culture, Waxahatchee’s fuzzy, introspective pop stands out due to the fearless honesty of the songs, and Crutchfield’s refusal to dumb down her emotional currents or underestimate her audience. Ivy Tripp is another excellent and remarkably bold chapter of this exciting, unflinching sound. ~ Fred Thomas

Tracklist:
01. Breathless
02. Under A Rock
03. Poison
04. La Loose
05. Stale By Noon
06. The Dirt
07. Blue
08. Air
09. <
10. Grey Hair
11. Summer Of Love
12. Half Moon
13. Bonfire

Download:

mqs.link_WaxahatcheeIvyTripp20152444.1.rar

Related Posts: