Waxahatchee

Ivy Tripp

Written by: HES on 19/05/2015 12:07:21

Waxahatchee named her memorable, yet not easy-to-pronounce name after the Waxahatchee Creek in Alabama, where she grew up. Apart from the moniker, however, there is practically nothing attributable to Alabama, nor any of the Native American-influences implied by her pseudonym about Waxahatchee’s music; "Ivy Tripp" is a clear cut case of the West Coast indie-scene, but I mean that as flattery.

There is something quite homemade about "Ivy Tripp". The soundscape is very bare, most of the time driven only by drums and bass lines - often drowned in a muddy, lo-fi recording with Katie Crutchfield's voice as the main component, her voice childish and unpronounced. This general feel is supported by elements like the super-simplified piano-themes of "Stale to Noon", "La Loose" or "Half Moon". But simultaneously, "Ivy Tripp" traverses between this childish universe and into adolescence with angrier, heavier songs like "Poison", with its soul searching lyrics of "What do I want, what do I think? Nobody hears. I take all the space I need, and my tears run clear".

The overall heaviness of some of the songs on "Ivy Tripp" is the best feature of the album. Seldom is it that female singer-songwriters can claim to actually be heavy, but the clear focus on bass tones in the music has a profound effect on the overall impression, and as such, the more classic singer-songwriter type songs like "Half Moon" slip under the stream without much notice. The definitive style direction of songs like the aforementioned "Poison", "Under A Rock" and "<", which also sports an off-tune guitar motif, are musically far more interesting in comparison to other parts of the record - so much that I find myself shuffling back to them instead of actually listening to the album in its entirety. Overall "Ivy Tripp" is a great take on bringing singer-songwriter music into a darker, heavier place.

Download: Poison, Under A Rock, <
For the fans of: Pixies, Cheap Girls, Laura Stevenson and the Cans
Listen: Facebook

Release date 07.04.2015
Merge Records

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