Waxahatchee — Saint Cloud
I completely missed this artist because it sounded like she was a country artist. Very country, in fact. Just the name Waxahatchee is alien to an Indian boy like me, and sounds vaguely Alabamic (this is me acknowledging one of my several conscious and unconscious biases, and hopefully moving closer to knocking them down). So even when I heard buzz, I assumed it was intended for someone else, ignoring my own love for albums like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Summerteeth, both alt-country hits. Ok, seeing as both are Wilco albums, it would be more accurate to say: ignoring my love of Wilco albums.
My attempts to knock down aforementioned biases filled Spotify's search bar with the words waxahatchee saint cloud, and my desire to be open to new experiences pressed play. After a few listens, I'm happy to report this album is wonderful, and reminded biased old me of Summerteeth. I need to reconsider my country bias, at least up to the point of alt-country. I'm now, or some day soon, going to dig into Waxahatchee’s back catalogue.
You can find the album on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
PS. A lot of the album is about her struggle with alcoholism and her new found sobriety, topics for which I have a soft spot. For greater detail on this, there’s a track-by-track interview on Pitchfork here.
