Cerulean Blue vinyl limited to 700 units! On her second full-length

record as Waxahatchee, former P.S. Eliot singer Katie Crutchfield’s

compelling hyper-personal poetry is continuously crushing. Cerulean Salt

follows American Weekend -- a collection of minimal acoustic-guitar pop

written and recorded in a week at her family’s Birmingham home. On this

new record, Crutchfield’s songs continue to be marked by her sharp,

hooky songwriting; her striking voice and lyrics that simultaneously

seem hyper-personal yet relentlessly relatable, teetering between

endearingly nostalgic and depressingly dark. But whereas before the

thematic focus of her songcraft was on break ups and passive-aggressive

crushing, this record reflects on her family and Alabama upbringing.

Whereas American Weekend was mostly just Crutchfield and her guitar,

Cerulean Salt is occasionally amped up, with a full band and higher-fi

production.

At times, Cerulean Salt creeps closer to the sound of PS Eliot: moody,

90s-inspired rock backed by Keith Spencer and Swearin’ guitarist Kyle

Gilbride on drums and bass. The full band means fleshed-out fuzzy lead

guitars on “Coast to Coast”, its poppy hook almost masking its dark

lyrics. Big distorted guitars and deep steady drums mark songs like

“Misery over Dispute” and “Waiting”.

There’s plenty of American Weekend‘s introspection and minimalism to be

found, though. “Blue Pt. II” is stripped down, Crutchfield and her

sister Alison singing in harmony with deadpan vox. She’s still an open

booking, musing on self-doubt versus self-reliance, transience versus

permanence. “Peace and Quiet” ebbs and flows from moody, minimal verses

to a sing-song chorus. “Swan Dive” tackles nostalgia, transience,

indifference, regret — over the a minimal strum of an electric-guitar,

the picking at a chirpy riff and the double-time tapping of a muted

drum. The album closes with a haunting acoustic-guitar reflection on

“You’re Damaged,” possibly the best Waxahatchee song to date.