Waxahatchee's fifth album, Saint Cloud , arrived in late March of 2020, released into the eye of the pandemic storm. It was a record that saw the project’s mastermind, Katie Crutchfield, move away from the various shades of indie rock she’d previously been known for and instead circle back homewards, towards the country-tinged Americana that informed her Alabama upbringing. Critics quickly and universally agreed that the record was a modern masterpiece, a gorgeous rumination on sobriety, maturity and the complexities of long-term relationships.
And yet, there was the risk that the album would be swept away by the strangeness of 2020, perhaps forgotten without Crutchfield ever having had a chance to take it on the road. READ MORE: 'Actually insane': Sabrina Carpenter fans issued with warning as tickets for UK tour and Co-op Live show go on sale She did finally make it to Manchester last April, playing a solo acoustic all-seated show that saw her play most of that record and, promisingly, three new songs that suggested that her next album would not only be in the same vein as Saint Cloud , but of a similarly exceptional quality, too. Waxahatchee at New Century Hall in Manchester (Image: Romy Caton-Jones) That was confirmed back in March when she put out Tigers Blood , a record which refined and subtly expanded the sound of her last album and confirmed as one of her generation’s finest songwriters.
Lyrically, much of the new album is concerned with self-acceptance and personal progression, so it’s fitting that tonight she’s back at a sold-out New Century Hall in its all-standing configuration for her biggest show in Manchester to date. Waxahatchee at New Century Hall in Manchester (Image: Romy Caton-Jones) She has been around long enough that at least a couple of the venues she’s played in Manchester previously are no longer around (Sound Control, The Ruby Lounge); the gradual, organic nature of her progression over the years is mirrored in the authentic feel of the two records that dominate the setlist tonight. Crutchfield opens with the first track from Tigers Blood , ‘3 Sisters’, delivering the opening lines a cappella to a rapt room, before her six-piece band join her and confirm that, finally, we’ll get to hear Saint Cloud in all its glory.
What the show really brings home is how easily these songs meld into each other. The band - which includes Spencer Tweedy, son of Wilco legend Jeff, on drums - bring an easy, laid-back richness to proceedings, allowing Crutchfield the platform to really take centre stage. Waxahatchee at New Century Hall in Manchester (Image: Romy Caton-Jones) Her vocals do so much of the heavy lifting, although it never sounds like hard work; there is lovely, warm interplay to the harmonies on ‘Right Back to It’, ‘Lone Star Lake’ and ‘Tigers Blood’, while the more impassioned likes of ‘Can’t Do Much’, ‘365’ and encore closer ‘Fire’ see her reach for the higher reaches of her register with assurance.
Like her hero, the US alt-country icon Lucinda Williams, Crutchfield has taken her time to find a sound that fits her like a glove, trying on different stylistic hats and putting in the hard yards on the road. As anybody among tonight’s 900-strong crowd will attest, good things come to those who wait..
