In her latest Substack, one of indie rock’s greatest songwriters shares her thoughts on two exploding pop stars
If you haven’t subscribed to Waxahatchee‘s Substack yet, you’re really missing out. Katie Crutchfield started the newsletter back in January, and though she describes it as “experimental, indiscriminate and rather concept-less,” it’s always worth a read.
On Monday, she kicked off the new month with a post titled “sweetness follows,” where she greets readers from a hotel room in Minneapolis. She describes her interest in the concept of contradiction (“I love wearing ugly shoes with beautiful clothes”), reflects on insanely great concerts she saw as a teenager (the Pixies, R.E.M.), and admits she recently bought jelly flats. But then she dives into her recent musical interests: Chappell Roan and Charli XCX.
Crutchfield explains she read a recent Billboard interview with Roan’s producer Dan Nigro, “because I, like everyone else, am obsessed with Chappell Roan and wanted to hear his thoughts and stories about working with her,” she wrote. “I fell head over heels in love with her songs from the moment she started singing. It’s so rare for me to go to see someone I’m unfamiliar with and leave literally looking up every song I heard but I did. The lyrics are so clever, the hooks are so massive, and her voice is powerful and she makes CHOICES with it, which I just adore. I’m really excited by her meteoric rise to the center of the zeitgeist.”
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She then went on to say that Charli XCX’s Brat is on her Album of the Year list (as well as her pal and collaborator MJ Lendermann’s upcoming LP Manning Fireworks). “Yes, people have sent me the ‘365’ memes,” she says, referring to the fact that she and Charli both have songs titled “365.” She added: “I’m truly honored to have momentarily entered the same creative airspace as Charli.”
In August, Crutchfield will kick off the next leg of her tour, supporting her new record, Tigers Blood — which Rolling Stone included on the list of the best albums and songs of the year (so far). Read our recent interview with her, where she discusses the record at length.
