Waxahatchee - Recite remorse
Before the release of Out in the Storm, Katie Crutchfield's career as Waxahatchee felt like a slow but steady ascending path, but even when her efforts were consistent and decent, she always felt like a secondary figure compared to other similar singer-songwriters that achieved much better albums, like Courtney Barnett or Angel Olsen. But her new album is probably her breakthrough statement that will position her as a central figure in indie rock.
The album follows the narrative of a failed relationship and the realizations that come after it. On Recite Remorse we find her in the intimate moment of coming to terms with what was what really attracted her of former lover "See, I always gravitate toward those who are unimpressed", and how her own insecurities left her unarmed against him "You were so condescending, you wrote me in, gave me a part". Her songwriting became more straightforward, but kept the wit and the ambition, making a bolder and much more personal work. It is a song of liberation and of becoming wiser thanks to experience; she doesn't point fingers and play the victim, she understand and targets her own faults.
To achieve this cathartic piece, she asks for the contribution of her sister playing the keyboard. It is a fraternal touch that adds warmth with a hazy ambient while the rest of the instruments have a controlled strength in the background, as if her all-girls band were there to support her through the tempest, but acknowledging that it is herself the one who has the main task of coming out stronger. Halfway between a ballad and an indie rock track, Recite Remorse is a heartfelt and intense song for those who have lost themselves to a lover who considered "a big fish" and give them the permission to use them and abuse them.