Saint Cloud
by Waxahatchee
  • Record Label: Merge
  • Release Date: Mar 27, 2020
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 128 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 105 out of 128
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 128
  3. Negative: 16 out of 128
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  1. gamesarefun6402
    Jan 25, 2023
    9
    This album strikes a balance between totally fun and listenable on the first listen and downright gut wrenching after the first few. It's remarkable how so much sadness can be masked in bright, twangy country sounds --all while hardly touching traditional country music themes. St. Cloud is an album about heartache, balancing one's departure from small town USA with a longing homesicknessThis album strikes a balance between totally fun and listenable on the first listen and downright gut wrenching after the first few. It's remarkable how so much sadness can be masked in bright, twangy country sounds --all while hardly touching traditional country music themes. St. Cloud is an album about heartache, balancing one's departure from small town USA with a longing homesickness for that very same place, internal strife, and a touch of nostalgia for a simpler time. It leaves the listener with a melancholic ending and asks you to see that Crutchfeld "did the best that [she] could." The album simultaneously has broad enough appeal to interest listeners who do not normally like country music, and complex lyrics that will keep you coming back for another listen --each time dissecting a little bit more of what is sung. It's deep, intimate, and full of rich metaphor and imagery.

    Such a great album.    … Expand
  2. dsanojag
    Aug 13, 2022
    10
    Incredible one of the best of this year!!! i loved Fire Lillacs and the title track, always bring back memories of summer
  3. RaynerCS
    Jun 16, 2021
    9
    Melhores faixas
    -Fire
    -Lilacs
    -Hell

    A prova que menos é mais tanto na letra quanto na produção
  4. Keeviin14
    Jan 18, 2021
    10
    A beautiful album, full of life and vivid emotions that transported me, to a place filled with flowers, colors and wonderful landscapes. One of the best of 2020 in my opinion.
  5. tteelerr
    Nov 27, 2020
    10
    The atmosphere that this album creates is unmatched by most albums released in 2020; it's an incredible release paired with a strong performance and stellar songwriting.
  6. hellokittypie
    Sep 3, 2020
    9
    A masterpiece! Nice songs to hear, an excellent job! Waxahatchee nailed it!
  7. NormanAlee
    Jul 9, 2020
    10
    The best one among simply sounding albums of the 2020. Well written country pop melodies, all negative reviews must be intentional like they were for last Fiona Apple album.
  8. Whiskeycloned
    Jun 5, 2020
    9
    I've always cherry picked Waxahatchee songs I liked rather than falling in love with her full previous albums. But she makes significant tweaks to her sound each time out and with Saint Cloud it turns out that apparently the best form of her singing/songwriting is Americana. It's a no-nonsense album that fires off one countrified gem after another with the elegance and easy of a Dusty inI've always cherry picked Waxahatchee songs I liked rather than falling in love with her full previous albums. But she makes significant tweaks to her sound each time out and with Saint Cloud it turns out that apparently the best form of her singing/songwriting is Americana. It's a no-nonsense album that fires off one countrified gem after another with the elegance and easy of a Dusty in Memphis but without in any way actually sounding like that album (and in fact, I'd say the songwriting here is more consistent). It's rare that somebody I've been aware of for years finally makes me a fan this many albums in, but Crutchfield has pulled that off bigtime here.… Expand
  9. brennans
    May 29, 2020
    3
    The vocals on Saint Cloud are Katie Crutchfield's most polished, but good vocals don't necessarily make for good music. Ever since the album Cerulean Salt, Crutchfield's lyrics (she's thought to be one of her generation's most gifted songwriters) have become increasingly self-absorbed, self-important, and confessional, either whining about how much she has suffered in bad relationships orThe vocals on Saint Cloud are Katie Crutchfield's most polished, but good vocals don't necessarily make for good music. Ever since the album Cerulean Salt, Crutchfield's lyrics (she's thought to be one of her generation's most gifted songwriters) have become increasingly self-absorbed, self-important, and confessional, either whining about how much she has suffered in bad relationships or dwelling on her personal suffering. Too often she directs her ire toward an unnamed lover she's over and done with, or, as a variation on the theme, apologizes to the man she loves for how crummy a person she is. These types of songs, tinged with narcissism, usually addressed to an unidentified "you," are uninteresting in the long run. (Doesn't Taylor Swift do the exact same thing?) Crutchfield's best work, like the songs found on American Weekend, Cerulean Salt, and here and there on the subsequent albums ("Silver" is probably her last great song) blends the specific with surreal imagery and broad strokes approaching social commentary. The heartfelt and vulnerable edge, the looking inward while simultaneously looking outward, that element that once made her so raw and compelling, has been traded away for mere sentimentality and navel gazing. Or, rather, like so much of the work by singer-songwriters these days, mirror gazing? I do like the country sound in Saint Cloud, and the vocals are so pretty, but wish the album possessed the power of punk and lo-fi she seems to have inexplicably traded away.… Expand
  10. thmadden29
    May 17, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This comes across as very run of the mill folk, with little musical or lyrical insight or innovation. Critics, please do better to help artists push boundaries.… Expand
  11. Lajaleaa
    May 10, 2020
    7
    ( 70/100 )

    Katie Crutchfield y su carrera en el Country Folk se ha ganado cierto respeto y "Saint Claud" se ha ganado el inmediato cariño de la crítica americana sin que yo entienda realmente porqué. Waxahatchee, junto con el productor Brad Cook, realizan un álbum que realmente es de lo más común y corriente que he escuchado. Teniendo en cuenta de que hablamos de Folk y Country, la    ( 70/100 )

    Katie Crutchfield y su carrera en el Country Folk se ha ganado cierto respeto y "Saint Claud" se ha ganado el inmediato cariño de la crítica americana sin que yo entienda realmente porqué. Waxahatchee, junto con el productor Brad Cook, realizan un álbum que realmente es de lo más común y corriente que he escuchado. Teniendo en cuenta de que hablamos de Folk y Country, la instrumentalización es muy vacía y monótona, los coros y la voz de Katie están muy separadas del conjunto musical que parece música Pop y las letras cuentan historias de amor y desamor, cierta madurez y lecciones de vida que de repente tienen cierto impacto emocional, pero nada fuera de lo común. La voz de Katie, por alguna razón, no es estética y aunque el álbum tiene sensibilidad, todos lo elementos parecen no cooperar a favor de la canción final.
    -
    Katie Crutchfield and her career in Country-Folk have won some respect and "Saint Cloud" has won the immediate tender of the American critique with no reason I can understand. Waxahatchee, along with producer Brad Cook, makes an album that is really one of the most common things that I've heard. Taking into account that we are talking about Country and Folk music, the instrumentation is pretty empty and monotonous, the choir and Katie's voice are very separated from the musical sets that it feels like Pop music, the lyrics tell about romance and heartbreaks with some maturity and life lessons that maybe sometimes have some kind of emotional shock, but nothing out of the common. Katie's voice, for some reason, is not esthetic and even if the album has some sensibility, all of the elements seem not to cooperate to help any final song.    … Expand
  12. diogomatsumoto
    May 9, 2020
    10
    A masterpiece. Katie has evolve in each new release and focus more in her voice that sounds clear and beautiful in this album.
  13. Rodkrieg
    Apr 3, 2020
    4
    I don’t find it interesting or different from the rest, just because we don’t have manu singers nowadays...
  14. notor12
    Apr 1, 2020
    9
    I wasn't a big fan of Waxahatchee before this album, although I really liked Crutchfield's previous work with P.S. Eliot.

    This album is a massive leap forward which has changed my view on the band completely. It is certainly the best album of 2020 so far, maybe of the last five years. This album is very, very close to being a masterpiece. When listening I felt there were just a    I wasn't a big fan of Waxahatchee before this album, although I really liked Crutchfield's previous work with P.S. Eliot.

    This album is a massive leap forward which has changed my view on the band completely. It is certainly the best album of 2020 so far, maybe of the last five years.

    This album is very, very close to being a masterpiece. When listening I felt there were just a couple of missteps here or there but largely it was amazing work. Opening the album with Oxbow, which was one of the weaker songs on the album in my view, was one such misstep. Not that Oxbow is a bad song by any stretch, but not the best work on display here and it is somewhat tonally inconsistent with the rest of the album, so the transition into "Can't Do Much" was a bit jarring.

    For the rest of the album I was completely immersed start to finish.

    "Fire" is Waxahatchee's best single by a long, long stretch. The title track "St. Cloud" is probably Waxahatchee's second best song. "Lilacs", "Can't Do Much", "Witches", "War", and "Ruby Falls" are all spectacular.

    The genre-mixing straddles the borders of indie folk with some pop-country and Americana in places, but it just barely touches those genres without beating you over the head. Waxahatchee was always going for that but in my opinion it didn't all come together as intended until this album.
    St. Cloud never overstays its welcome or does too much or too little, and like all the greats it makes the achievement here look very simple while beneath the surface you know it is anything but.

    Nothing on this album is un-listenable. I enjoyed myself through every single track.....very few artists are able to maintain that through a complete album.

    Highly recommended.    … Expand
  15. rogadi
    Mar 31, 2020
    7
    The album is good, but not great. Probably the main problem is the similarity of the songs, causing the first listen to be boring in some points, it's definitely an album that needs several listens. I personally don't think Dua Lipa's "fans" are trying to move this album from its position, mainly cause the opinions that "matter" are the critics' ones, and in my opinion, Dua actually did aThe album is good, but not great. Probably the main problem is the similarity of the songs, causing the first listen to be boring in some points, it's definitely an album that needs several listens. I personally don't think Dua Lipa's "fans" are trying to move this album from its position, mainly cause the opinions that "matter" are the critics' ones, and in my opinion, Dua actually did a better job.… Expand
  16. Rdwdbob
    Mar 30, 2020
    9
    Early contender for one of the years best! We needed this album right here, right now. The sound is now, the sound is timeless, we’ll be listening to this forever.
  17. bensardonic
    Mar 29, 2020
    9
    One of those beautiful, rare albums that gives you more with each listen. As a cohesive whole, it is a splendid achievement.
  18. Menios
    Mar 29, 2020
    9
    I was amazed by this album and Waxahatchee, in general. I loved the poetic and abstract tone of several of the songs in the album as well as the real stories of her and the people around her. Definitely going to be one of the best albums of 2020.
  19. joethealien
    Mar 28, 2020
    9
    this is a real stunning folk rock gem
    after her past few projects, which have felt a bit more indie-pop inflected, this one feels the most organic and rootsy. and by being just that, it earns the title of Waxahatchee's best album thus far! her voice just sounds stronger and stronger too

    key tracks: Can't Do Much, Fire, Lilacs, The Eye, War, Ruby Falls
  20. vicxxx
    Mar 28, 2020
    10
    best waxahatchee album in years!!!!!!!!!!!!!! saint cloud is a masterpiece.
  21. Lore_D
    Mar 28, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. 'Saint Cloud' is undoubtedly the most beautiful, most sacred, most powerful, most moving, most sincere album of the late spring of 2020. No better from the lyrics or the arrangement of the melody, it can be described as a poetic beauty. Listening, as if into the sunny, bright, fresh, fragrant vortex of love. You are driving on the highway, listen to the 'Fire' ,and out of the window, town after town. It's hard for me to understand that someon… Expand
  22. Egood81
    Mar 27, 2020
    10
    Some albums just resonate deep and this is one stellar collection of songs. It feels alive and bright.
  23. i94
    Mar 27, 2020
    10
    It's a shame all the Dua Lipa fans are tanking this album's user score—you can support your fav without being an arse to another (I happen to love both!). That being said, Saint Cloud is 2020's best so far. Its timing couldn't be better—it feels like the level-headed enlightenment we need in these dark times. The entire album feels like sunlight hitting your face. Standouts are "Fire,"It's a shame all the Dua Lipa fans are tanking this album's user score—you can support your fav without being an arse to another (I happen to love both!). That being said, Saint Cloud is 2020's best so far. Its timing couldn't be better—it feels like the level-headed enlightenment we need in these dark times. The entire album feels like sunlight hitting your face. Standouts are "Fire," "Oxbox," and the three closing tracks—but there's not one bad song on this album. I imagine that this album feels like the collective joy we'll all feel whenever this pandemic subsides. Until then, we have Saint Cloud. And for that, I am grateful.… Expand
  24. crashinganalyst
    Mar 27, 2020
    6
    Katie Crutchfield has an..interesting voice . The lyrics are good. The music is ok albeit simplistic. A mix of alternative and Americana. Waxahatchie is the kind of band that would be great in a small club.
  25. Kiva
    Mar 27, 2020
    10
    Hey Dua Lipa fans if you’re intentionally tanking this album’s score, grow up. Dua would be horrified to learn you’re using her name to tear down other women.
  26. joniu
    Mar 27, 2020
    8
    upon first listen this is a beautiful and well written album, but more listens will be necessary.
  27. Pedrokelvi1
    Mar 27, 2020
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. In portuguese

    Faltaram mais coerência e coesão. O álbum não foi bem construído.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

16
#16 Best Album of 2020
70
#70 Most Discussed Album of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Universal acclaim - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. No Ripcord
    Apr 3, 2020
    70
    The further you get, the sharper the writing becomes and the more introspective and unique the album feels.
    Read full review
  2. Paste Magazine
    Apr 1, 2020
    90
    When an artist completely and beautifully upends the conventions of an entire genre, they’re probably aware of their capabilities. Saint Cloud is the sound of Katie Crutchfield at her most conscious, comfortable and controlled.
    Read full review
  3. Sputnikmusic
    Apr 1, 2020
    90
    Katie is making a point of saying more with less, taking potent emotions and quietly tucking them into a plain white envelope for us to open and interpret. She’s as lucid as we’ve ever heard her, stripping down to her emotional core and daring us to make eye contact.
    Read full review
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