Hot on the heels of her celebrated 2017 album Out in the Storm, Katie Crutchfield shares an EP of a very different nature. The Waxahatchee sound is stripped down to its most bare and essential; much of Great Thunder is simply Crutchfield sat at a piano. It’s a clear departure from the noisy thrill of her last record, yet equally radiant and emotive.
The six songs on Great Thunder were written with the now-dormant experimental recording group of the same name, between 2012 and 2014, while Crutchfield was also writing the Waxahatchee albums Cerulean Salt and Ivy Tripp. Though the original recordings were mostly lost, they have been reimagined here with the help of producer Brad Cook (Bon Iver, The War on Drugs).
Stylistically the material is quintessentially Waxahatchee. With so little to distract from it, Crutchfield’s raw vocal rings through with a devastating richness and maturity. The EP itself is gorgeously authentic, with every crack of emotion left true, and a hint of chatter at the end of a song. Great Thunder is a bold move that pays off: 20 minutes of brave and intimate catharsis.
