Saint Cloud
Studio album by
Waxahatchee
ReleasedMarch 27, 2020 (2020-03-27)
Studio
GenreIndie rock, alt country, Americana
Length40:06
LabelMerge
ProducerBrad Cook
Waxahatchee chronology
Out in the Storm
(2017)		 Saint Cloud
(2020)		 I Walked with You a Ways
(2022)

Saint Cloud is the fifth studio album by American indie rock act Waxahatchee, released on March 27, 2020, by Merge Records.[1]

Background

Waxahatchee frontwoman Katie Crutchfield described the album's main themes as "addiction and codependency".[2] Much of Saint Cloud was inspired by her struggles with alcoholism, which came to a fore during the promotional tour for Waxahatchee's Out in the Storm (2017), and subsequent decision to get sober.[2][3] Crutchfield titled the album and its titular song after her father's hometown of St. Cloud, Florida, a small community outside of Orlando.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.4/10[4]
Metacritic88/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
And It Don't StopA−[7]
The Guardian[8]
The Independent[9]
NME[10]
The Observer[11]
Pitchfork8.7/10[12]
Q[13]
Rolling Stone[14]
Uncut8/10[15]

Robert Christgau reviewed the album in his Substack-published "Consumer Guide" column in July 2020. While suggesting that the "recovery songs" toward the album's end recount life experiences not relatable for the average listener, he applauded Crutchfield's performance through the opening series of "love/relationship/self-knowledge songs", with "her guitar parts echoing readymades so approximately and unaffectedly they sound fresh all over again, her soft voice so casual and personable and smart".[7]

Accolades

Accolades for Saint Cloud
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Beats Per Minute Top 50 Albums of 2020 36 [16]
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2020 6 [17]
Double J Top 50 Albums of 2020 6 [18]
Exclaim! Top 50 Albums of 2020
18
Gigwise Top 51 Albums of 2020
26
The Line of Best Fit Top 50 Albums of 2020 12 [21]
NPR The 50 Best Albums of 2020
47
Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2020
2
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2020
2
PopMatters The 60 Best Albums of 2020 9 [25]
Rolling Stone The 50 Best Albums of 2020
7
The Skinny Top 10 Albums of 2020 6 [27]
Slant Magazine Top 50 Albums of 2020 12 [28]
Stereogum Stereogum's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
2
Under the Radar Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2020
6
Uproxx The Best Albums and Songs of 2020 7 [31]
The Wild Honey Pie Top 30 Albums of 2020
2

Track listing

All tracks are written by Katie Crutchfield and produced by Brad Cook, except where noted

Saint Cloud track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Oxbow"2:53
2."Can't Do Much"3:44
3."Fire"3:38
4."Lilacs"3:15
5."The Eye"4:18
6."Hell"3:00
7."Witches"2:48
8."War"3:10
9."Arkadelphia"4:50
10."Ruby Falls"3:50
11."Saint Cloud"4:40
Total length:40:06
Saint Cloud +3 track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Fruits of My Labor"Lucinda Williams
  • Crutchfield
  • Cook
5:05
13."Light of a Clear Blue Morning"Dolly Parton
  • Crutchfield
  • Cook
4:38
14."Streets of Philadelphia"Bruce Springsteen
  • Crutchfield
  • Cook
4:09
Total length:53:58

Personnel

Musicians

  • Katie Crutchfield – vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, keyboards
  • Brad Cook – bass, acoustic guitar, piano, keyboards, synthesizer
  • Bobby Colombo – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards
  • Bill Lennox – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, percussion, vocals
  • Nick Kinsey – drums, percussion
  • Josh Kaufman – electric guitar, piano, organ, percussion

Technical personnel

  • Brad Cook – production
  • Jerry Ordonez – engineering
  • Jon Low – additional engineering, mixing
  • Brent Lambert – mastering

Artwork

  • Molly Matalon – photos
  • Andreina Byrne – set production
  • Mike Krol – design

Charts

Sales chart performance for Saint Cloud
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[33] 24
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[34] 7
US Billboard 200[35] 140
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[36] 2
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[37] 17
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[38] 6
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[39] 19

References

  1. ↑ Minsker, Evan (January 22, 2020). "Waxahatchee Announces New Album and Tour, Shares New Song "Fire": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Moreland, Quinn (March 27, 2020). "Waxahatchee Breaks Down Every Song on Her New Album, Saint Cloud". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  3. ↑ Martoccio, Angie (January 22, 2020). "Katie Crutchfield's New Morning". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Saint Cloud by Waxahatchee reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Saint Cloud by Waxahatchee Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  6. ↑ Donelson, Marcy. "Saint Cloud – Waxahatchee". AllMusic. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  7. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (July 8, 2020). "Consumer Guide: July, 2020". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  8. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (March 27, 2020). "Waxahatchee: Saint Cloud review – the best album of the year so far". The Guardian. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  9. ↑ Pollard, Alexandra; Bray, Elisa (March 26, 2020). "Album reviews: Sufjan Stevens, 'Aporia', Waxahatchee, 'Saint Cloud' and Basia Bulat, 'Are You in Love?'". The Independent. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  10. ↑ Neale, Matthew (March 23, 2020). "Waxahatchee – 'Saint Cloud' review: Katie Crutchfield embraces her Americana idols with stunning results". NME. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  11. ↑ Rogers, Jude (March 29, 2020). "Waxahatchee: Saint Cloud review – fierce and ambitious but hard to love". The Observer. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  12. ↑ Larson, Jeremy D. (March 27, 2020). "Waxahatchee: Saint Cloud". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  13. ↑ Aroesti, Rachel (May 2020). "The Sweet Spot". Q. No. 410. pp. 114–15.
  14. ↑ Shaffer, Claire (March 25, 2020). "Waxahatchee's 'Saint Cloud' Vividly Maps a Healing Path". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  15. ↑ Mackay, Emily (May 2020). "Waxahatchee: Saint Cloud". Uncut. No. 276. p. 34.
  16. ↑ Hakimian, Rob (December 9, 2020). "BPM's Top 50 Albums of 2020". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2020". Consequence of Sound. 2020-12-01. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  18. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Double J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2020". Exclaim!. December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Gigwise's 51 Best Albums of 2020". Gigwise. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  21. ↑ "The Best Albums of 2020". The Line of Best Fit. December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  22. ↑ Walker, Jerad (December 2, 2020). "The Best Albums of 2020". NPR. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  23. ↑ Johnson, Ellen (November 30, 2020). "The Best Albums of 2020". Paste. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  24. ↑ Moreland, Quinn (December 8, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  25. ↑ "The 60 Best Albums of 2020". PopMatters. December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  26. ↑ Bernstein, Jonathan; Blake, Emily; Blistein, Jon; Dolan, Jon; Doyle, Patrick; Ehrlick, Brenna; Freeman, Jon; Grow, Kory; Hoard, Christian; Hudak, Joseph; Leight, Elias; Martoccio, Angie; Shaffer, Claire; Sheffield, Rob; Shteamer, Hank; Vozick-Levinson, Simon (December 4, 2020). "Best Albums of 2020". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  27. ↑ "The Skinny's Favourite Albums of 2020". The Skinny. November 30, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  28. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Slant Magazine. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  29. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2020 So Far". Stereogum. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2020". Under the Radar. January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  31. ↑ "The Best Albums of 2020". Uproxx. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  32. ↑ Snyder, Kyle (December 9, 2020). "Top 30 Albums of 2020". The Wild Honey Pie. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  35. ↑ "Waxahatchee Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  36. ↑ "Waxahatchee Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  37. ↑ "Waxahatchee Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  38. ↑ "Waxahatchee Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  39. ↑ "Waxahatchee Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
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