A Feast of Beast

Waxahatchee - Dixie Cups and Jars

Premiere from new album Cerulean Salt

It’s slightly surprising to see Katie Crutchfield’s solo band Waxahatchee all of a sudden getting so much coverage between pitchforky interviews, NPR, and a fucking New York Times article, but I guess she couldn’t stay a secret forever.  If you missed out on Katie & Allison’s last brillant band P.S. Eliot (which broke up last year with the sisters each going their separate ways with new bands) do checkout their 2 albums & 2 EPs.  Introverted Romance In Our Troubled Minds remains securely one of my most favorite records of all time.

Cerulean Salt is Katie’s second LP in barely a year, and it shines with her purely intimate song writing that gives such strength to her work.  I find it a little stronger than American Weekend, but that may be slightly biased, considering I didn’t originally quite appreciate Waxahatchee as much because I was still overcoming my devestation over the P.S. Eliot breakup.  Given some more space, I’m now fully appreciating Katie latest reincarnation.  She retains her very much lo-fi aesthetic with just enough polishing to let her killer voice power through.  The blunt intimacy of her songs instills them with a raw power different, but no less equal to the louder punk recordings of P.S. Eliot.  

Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt LP is out on Don Giovanni Records here and supposedly on clear blue vinyl according to discogs, but I’m still waiting for my own copy to confirm that.

Swearin’ - Snag

Ok part two of my gushing about P.S. Eliot, a now defunct pop punk girl band from Birmingham, Alabama.  The energy of the band, along with the combination of both raw & catchy songs makes them an instant success.

Well the drummer from P.S. Eliot (& sister to lead singer Katie of Waxahatchee), Allison Crutchfield, has a new band called Swearin’.  They’ve been busy having already released an EP followed by a full length recently on Salina’s Records (same label as P.S. Eliot).  Katie closed P.S. Eliot’s career with this statement:

I sincerely feel that we’ve creatively accomplished everything we set out to from the get-go and dragging it out would be brazen and pointless.

So while many devoted fans were definitely not in agreement, it seems her sister has picked up the torch to continue on with a very similar sound.  There is a distinct 90’s alt. rock resonance here, laden with delicious hooks that suck you right back into your teens.  Their music is anything but amateur, and yet it sounds so nostalgic.  The What a Dump EP that I pulled this track from is up for download at BnDcMp here, while their full length has received a proper physical release on vinyl.  

Swearin’ certainly is it’s own beast outside of P.S. Eliot, but if you’ve been craving more since the breakup, its not far off.  Guess it’s in their blood.

Sweain’ - s/t LP  was self recorded, and is available from Salina’s Records here for the absurdly low price of $8 bones plus shipping.  That’s cheaper than a sht dgtl dwnld!

Waxahatchee - Grass Stain

This is 50% of the reincarnation of P.S. Eliot in the form of Katie Crutchfield.  Her previous band was a 90’s pop punk fantasy, with songs so filled with emotion and energy, they’re brimming to explode.  I believe P.S. Eliot remains one of the best kept secrets of the mid-late 2000s and after their breakup in 2011, I’ve been dying for more.  Katie drop the pop & the punk, and in favor of the raw emotion that was always at the core of her writing.  Its beautiful, moving, and definitely reminds me of Angel Olsen if that’s your thing.  Next up we’ll get the other 50% of the reincarnation of P.S. Eliot that stuck with the punk…   

Waxahatchee - American Weekend LP is available from Don Giovanni Records

P.S. Eliot - Like How You Are

It sounds as lo-fi as it looks, and every second is fucking glorious.  The Bike Wreck Demo from P.S. Eliot remains one of my favorite EPs.  Without a song topping 3min, and barely 14min total of garage punk that I never tire of hearing.  I rarely do this, but seeing as you can’t buy it anywhere grab the whole EP via mediafire here. 

Keep an eye out for their new LP coming out on Salina’s Records sometime after their April 8th release party in BK.  You’ll be able to buy the Sadie LP for practically nothing (ie $7.50) on vinyl here.       

P.S. Eliot - Broken Record

I was introduced to P.S. Eliot maybe 2 years ago by a friend with excellent taste in music and a talent for making the perfect mixtape; a skill most lack, and one that I value as highly as Rob Gordon idolizes it.  Emerging from Birmingham, Alabama with a super screechy tape called The Bike Wreck Demo, it was so genuine that it won me over piercing and clipping aside.   In fact when their debut LP, Introverted Romance in our Troubled Minds debuted on Salina’s Records a year later sounding so cleaned up I barely recognized it, it caught me off guard.  In the end the LP won me over and that is a testament to their talents stretching beyond a reliance on the lo-fi sound of their demo.  But I appreciate both in different ways, and yet I still missed some of the raw energy from the demo.  Grab Introverted Romance in our Troubled Minds on vinyl for a mere $7.50(??) here.  

So I had seen that their followup LP Sadie was scheduled for spring release also from Salina’s Records, but sooner than I even expected as the label just posted: “The test presses for P.S. Eliot’s LP “Sadie” have been approved and the record will be available after their April 8th release show in Brooklyn.” Keep your eyes peeled for that LP here.

So now the part that really excited/surprised me: they released a 7” EP called Living In Squalor in the past year(?) that I completely missed.  Four new songs and a fresh recording of Broken Record  from the demo tape which you can listen to above.  This 7” seems a little more raw, and I hope its an indicator of how the second LP will sound.  Fingers crossed.  I’ll post up my favorite track from the demo later tonight, in all its screechy heartfelt glory.