Waxahatchee channels her punk-rock roots into poetic guitar pop in "Peace And Quiet."
Perhaps you'll remember Waxahatchee's Katie Crutchfield as the choppy haired chick behind Southern punk act P.S. Eliot. Ever since her departure from the group a couple years ago, Crutchfield has kept busy with her solo effort, releasing a lo-fi full-length album American Weekend in 2011. Now, Waxahatchee's back with a brand-new track, "Peace And Quiet," which will be the first single off her sophomore record, Cerulean Salt. And while P.S. Eliot stayed firmly rooted in indie-punk, favoring heavily distorted guitars and pounding drums, Waxahatchee jumps ahead a couple genres, channeling mid-'90s alt-rock acts like Hole and The Breeders rather than, say, Bikini Kill or X-Ray Spex.
Listen to Waxahatchee's "Peace And Quiet" after the jump.
Opening slowly with a pensive three-chord rhythm, "Peace And Quiet" begins with Crutchfield sounding like a steadier-on-her-feet Courtney Love, or perhaps a less folky Sharon Van Etten. As the song builds with slow, deliberate percussion, Crutchfield laments an emotionally trying relationship: "I just don't wanna live this way cause lately were up all night/ I can't speak free when you're in my face and I don't like to be unkind/ But constantly you try and turn it around when clearly it's black and white." Clearly Waxahatchee still has her punk-rock wits about her (catchy three-chord melodies are so hard to resist), but her lyrics are a deeper melting pot of reflection, regret, and avoidance -- exactly the kind of self-effacing stuff Morrissey (Waxahatchee's idol) or even Elliott Smith would like.
Cerulean Salt will surface March 5, 2013, but if you need us in the meantime, we'll be over here organizing our flannel collection -- we think we're gonna need it.
