Katie Crutchfield veered away from her indie rock roots with her last album as Waxahatchee and on “Tigers Blood” she doubles down on that pure americana sound to deliver an almost perfect follow-up. With the addition of MJ Lenderman playing back up on almost every song they have more depth, warmth and southern hospitality.
Crutchfield’s sobriety, which was a big part of the themes on her last album, “St. Cloud,” is revisted with songs about keeping the ghosts of the past at bay, co-dependency and dorment habits while finding new life in a love that won’t die.
Working with Lenderman of the Ashville North Carolina band Wednesday, Crutchfield creates beautiful harmonies while his guitar leads act as a similar foil to her own strumming. He apparently was brought in to collaborate on one song and stayed for the rest of the album creating a Gram Parsons/Emmylous Harris or Gillian Welch/ David Rawlings vibe.
So obviously content with her life in her adopted hometown of Kansas City, Crutchfield aimlessly wanders through scenes in her life that are relateable to anyone listening and, with a much more credible backing band, has crafted a followup album that exceeds it’s beloved predecessor.