Katie Crutchfield: assembling players who know how to linger in the sunlight
MOLLYMATALON
OVER the past decade and a half, Katie Crutchfield has amassed a deep catalogue of quiet revelations, fullband exorcisms and adventurous collaborations, but it took until now for her to write her first love song. It’s called “Right Back To It”, and it’s the immediate standout of her grounded and radiant new album. “You just settle in/Like a song with no end”, she sings in close harmony with MJ Lenderman, the North Carolina songwriter and guitar of the alt.country band Wednesday, whose tender drawl seems to wrap its arms around Crutchfield’s distinctive, cawing voice. In the background, you hear the melodic pluck of a banjo and a slow-moving drumbeat, all propelling one of Crutchfield’s most satisfying, singalong choruses. It’s not just Waxahatchee’s first love song: it’s the first one you can imagine playing on pop radio.