Cerulean Salt

Following the release of Waxahatchee's debut album, American Weekend (2012), Katie Crutchfield toured extensively as a duo, with her friend Katherine: "It was just the two of us, which was also kind of hard staying away from pretty much everybody that I know for that long. It was really hard, then I came home and kind of worked on writing and flushing out some of the new songs and then I went out on tour again with Swearin' for the same amount of time, for two months, so that was crazy."{{cite web |url= https://www.stereogum.com/1249472/waxahatchees-katie-crutchfield-on-twin-dynamics-p-s-eliot-and-new-lp-cerulean-salt/interview/ |title=Q&A: Waxahatchee's Katie Crutchfield On Twin Dynamics, P.S. Eliot, And New LP Cerulean Salt |first=T. Cole |last=Rachel |work=stereogum.com |date=February 2013 |accessdate=29 December 2013}}

In April 2012, Crutchfield began working on new material with boyfriend and Swearin' band member Keith Spencer: "I went to Alabama with my boyfriend and he kinda' played drums with me, and we sort of fleshed out everything and decided what needed drums, what didn’t need drums, and reworked a lot of the songs I had." Five months later, Crutchfield and Spencer began recording Cerulean Salt, alongside Swearin' members Kyle Gilbride and Allison Crutchfield: "We recorded it here at my house with Kyle [Gilbride]. And Keith and Kyle are both in Swearin,’ which is my sister's band, and they sort of, we all kind of, still like Allison is a part of my life and her entire band is an everyday part of my life, so it still felt very comfortable. We recorded it here in my basement and Kyle and Allison and Keith and another roommate of ours Sam [Cook-Parrott] all played on it."

Crutchfield praised the collaborative recording sessions, noting: "I feel like I have really talented friends and wanted to bounce ideas off them. Like, two heads are better than one, four are better than two, and maybe if we all got together on this they could present ideas to me that I had never thought of. That was the sort of process on this record that, honestly, is completely different than American Weekend in every possible way."

Songwriter and primary recording artist Katie Crutchfield wrote Cerulean Salt over the course of a year, stating: "For me, I’ve always been, like, I can just spit out a bunch of songs really quickly. But this was a much slower, more vigilant, meticulous process."

The album's lyrical content is primarily concerned with songwriter and recording artist Katie Crutchfield's views on adulthood: "A lot of it is about realizing that your childhood is over, that your innocence is gone. When you're a kid, you're always happy, and everything's good. And then you realize, 'That's never gonna be how I am again.' [...] It's not sad as much as it is these weird existential realizations, like, 'This is life, nothing matters.'"

{{Music ratings

| ADM = 7.5/10{{cite web|url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/5309/Waxahatchee-Cerulean-Salt.aspx|title=Cerulean Salt by Waxahatchee reviews|publisher=AnyDecentMusic?|accessdate=December 30, 2019}}

| MC = 79/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/cerulean-salt/waxahatchee|title=Reviews for Cerulean Salt by Waxahatchee|website=Metacritic|accessdate=March 11, 2013}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/cerulean-salt-mw0002489152|title=Cerulean Salt – Waxahatchee|website=AllMusic|accessdate=March 11, 2013|last=Thomas|first=Fred}}

| rev2 = The Guardian

| rev2score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/27/waxahatchee-cerulean-salt-review|title=Waxahatchee: Cerulean Salt – review|work=The Guardian|date=June 27, 2013|accessdate=July 14, 2016|last=Costa|first=Maddy}}

| rev3 = The Irish Times

| rev3score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/waxahatchee-cerulean-salt-1.1449409|title=Waxahatchee: Cerulean Salt|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=July 5, 2013|accessdate=July 14, 2016|last=Carroll|first=Jim|author-link=Jim Carroll (journalist)}}

| rev4 = Mojo

| rev4score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite journal|title=Waxahatchee: Cerulean Salt|journal=Mojo|issue=237|date=August 2013|page=93}}

| rev5 = MSN Music (Expert Witness)

| rev5score = A−{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/ew2013-03.php|title=Kate Nash/Waxahatchee|work=MSN Music|date=March 26, 2013|accessdate=July 14, 2016|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau}}

| rev6 = NME

| rev6score = 8/10{{cite journal|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/various-artists/14542|title=Waxahatchee – 'Cerulean Salt'|journal=NME|date=July 2, 2013|accessdate=March 11, 2013|last=Hewitt|first=Ben|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405044226/http://www.nme.com/reviews/various-artists/14542|archivedate=April 5, 2015}}

| rev7 = Pitchfork

| rev7Score = 8.4/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17688-waxahatchee-cerulean-salt/|title=Waxahatchee: Cerulean Salt|work=Pitchfork|date=March 7, 2013|accessdate=March 11, 2013|last=Zoladz|first=Lindsay}}

| rev8 = Q

| rev8score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite journal|title=Waxahatchee: Cerulean Salt|journal=Q|issue=325|date=August 2013|page=107}}

| rev9 = Rolling Stone

| rev9score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/cerulean-salt-20130327|title=Cerulean Salt|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=March 27, 2013|accessdate=July 14, 2016|last=Sheffield|first=Rob|author-link=Rob Sheffield}}

| rev10 = Spin

| rev10Score = 8/10{{cite journal|url=http://www.spin.com/reviews/waxahatchee-cerulean-salt-don-giovanni|title=Waxahatchee, 'Cerulean Salt' (Don Giovanni)|date=March 6, 2013|accessdate=March 11, 2013|last=Powell|first=Mike}}

}}

Pitchfork{{'}}s Lindsay Zoladz applauded Salt as "the work of a songwriter skilled enough to make introspection not self-centered, but generous." She wrote that the album showed Katie Crutchfield as "a new songwriting voice to reckon with", aligning its "blazingly honest [and] hyper-personal quality" with musicians Cat Power, Elliott Smith, and Liz Phair. It was awarded the site's "Best New Music" accolade. Jim Carroll for The Irish Times called Crutchfield's songwriting "confident, audacious, and natural" and singled out several songs as "lyrically strong and honest, and perfectly pitched."

The album reached #1 on the Official Record Store Chart for the week of July 13, 2013.{{cite web|title=2013 Top 40 Official Record Store Albums Archive|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/record-store-chart/20130707/530/|work=Official Charts Company|accessdate=25 July 2013}}

The A.V. Club ranked the record at a high #7 on their year end list. The album was voted #36 on Rolling Stone{{'}}s 50 Best Albums of 2013 list. Pitchfork ranked the album #22 on their year end list. Spin also ranked the album highly, placing it at #20 on their top album list.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-albums-of-2013-20131202/waxahatchee-cerulean-salt-19691231|title=50 Best Albums of 2013|magazine=Rolling Stone |date=2 December 2013 |publisher=|accessdate=2 October 2016}}

Cerulean Salt was included on several decade-end lists. It placed #61 on Rolling Stone{{'}}s list, with J. Bernstein writing that it solidified Katie Crutchfield as "one of her generation's foremost chroniclers of interior turmoil." They also dubbed it "a lasting document" of Philadelphia's "subdued" take on indie rock music during the 2010s. Ranking it #107 on their list, BrooklynVegan dubbed the album "a touchstone" for the fusion of emo, folk, indie rock, and punk styles occurring that decade.

1. "Hollow Bedroom" – 1:52
2. "Dixie Cups and Jars" – 3:36
3. "Lips and Limbs" – 2:37
4. "Blue Pt. II" – 2:19
5. "Brother Bryan" – 2:36
6. "Coast to Coast" – 1:46
7. "Tangled Envisioning" – 2:27
8. "Misery Over Dispute" – 1:45
9. "Lively" – 2:32
10. "Waiting" – 1:41
11. "Swan Dive" – 3:14
12. "Peace and Quiet" – 2:37
13. "You're Damaged" – 3:33

• Katie Crutchfield - vocals, various instruments
• Keith Spencer - drums (3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12), bass guitar (2, 5 and 7), guitar (2)
• Kyle Gilbride - bass guitar (3, 6 and 10), guitar (3), synth (12), backing vocals (9)
• Allison Crutchfield - drums (2), vocals (4)
• Sam Cook-Parrott - bass guitar (12), backing vocals (12)

• Kyle Gilbride - producer, engineer
• Keith Spencer - producer
• Katie Crutchfield - producer
• Sam Cook-Parrott - additional production
• Allison Crutchfield - additional production

• Ryan Russell - art direction, layout and photography
• Katie Crutchfield - art direction

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Category:Waxahatchee albums

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