Ivy Tripp is the third studio album by American indie musician Waxahatchee, released on April 7, 2015, on Merge Records domestically, and Wichita Recordings internationally. Katie Crutchfield (aka Waxahatchee) produced the album with Kyle Gilbride and Keith Spencer.
| Ivy Tripp | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 7, 2015 | |||
| Studio | Wherever Audio, Holbrook, New York | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, indie folk | |||
| Length | 37:01 | |||
| Label | Merge, Wichita Recordings | |||
| Producer | Kyle Gilbride, Keith Spencer, Katie Crutchfield | |||
| Waxahatchee chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Ivy Tripp | ||||
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Background and recording
editAfter the release of Cerulean Salt (2013), Crutchfield split amicably with her label, Don Giovanni Records. She and Spencer isolated themselves for almost a year in a house in Holbrook, Long Island. Crutchfield recalled, "I just got to hide out and make a record. At my own pace. That was important to me."[1] In a press release, she said of the album: "The title Ivy Tripp is really just a term I made up for directionless-ness, specifically of the 20-something, 30-something, 40-something of today, lacking regard for the complaisant life path of our parents and grandparents."[2] The extra "p" in Tripp is a reference to a friend of Crutchfield's who had died.[3]
Musically, Crutchfield described the album as "poppier" than her previous work.[3] The only other musicians on the album are Spencer and Gilbride; the trio also produced the album together.[4] Crutchfield explained: "We had synthesizers and tons of keyboards and 12-string guitars and acoustic guitars set aside so that we could put whatever on it that we thought would be cool. That part of the record was really collaborative. Keith and Kyle and I kind of all worked together to build the songs up."[3]
Reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.8/10[5] |
| Metacritic | 81/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| The A.V. Club | B+[8] |
| Chicago Tribune | [9] |
| The Guardian | [10] |
| Mojo | [11] |
| NME | 8/10[12] |
| Pitchfork | 8.1/10[13] |
| Q | [14] |
| Rolling Stone |  [15] |
| Spin | 8/10[16] |
Ivy Tripp has received acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81 based on 27 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[6]
In a review of the album, Sarah Grant of Rolling Stone wrote: "Aimlessness can be a rite of passage for twentysomethings, and Crutchfield shines brightest when she transforms that fear into frenetic pop joy."[15] Harriet Gibsone of The Guardian said that Crutchfield "maintains a sense of sincerity throughout, letting her purge her own thoughts while providing a sanctuary for her listeners."[10] Annie Zaleski of Spin remarked: "Although the record is no less sparse than her previous albums, it boasts far more diverse instrumental detail" and that "despite more intricate arrangements and a broader palette of sounds, Ivy Tripp is a perfectly logical progression along the Waxahatchee continuum."[16]
Pitchfork's Brandon Stosuy noted that "many of Ivy Tripp's song titles—'The Dirt', 'Half Moon', 'Bonfire'—are dusky and colored like earth tones, and that's the setting of the songs as well: moments in transition, the realm between night and day and relationships that have that same kind of momentary feeling."[13] Sarah Murphy of Exclaim! said it's "not a record about being in love or and it's not a record about getting your heart broken; it's about the foggy, messy tangle of the feelings in between. And they've never sounded so good."[17] William Tomer of The 405 commented that "[Crutchfield] is already making her mark as one of America's premier songwriters and she shows no signs of stopping."[18]
Accolades
edit| Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| The A.V. Club | The 15 Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 8[19]
|
| Stereogum | The 50 Best Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 19[20]
|
| Rolling Stone | Top 20 Albums of 2015 | 2015 | 15
|
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Katie Crutchfield
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Breathless" | 4:45 |
| 2. | "Under a Rock" | 2:08 |
| 3. | "Poison" | 2:10 |
| 4. | "La Loose" | 3:13 |
| 5. | "Stale by Noon" | 2:44 |
| 6. | "The Dirt" | 2:02 |
| 7. | "Blue" | 2:06 |
| 8. | "Air" | 3:11 |
| 9. | "<" | 3:20 |
| 10. | "Grey Hair" | 1:45 |
| 11. | "Summer of Love" | 2:20 |
| 12. | "Half Moon" | 3:20 |
| 13. | "Bonfire" | 5:00 |
Personnel
editMusicians
edit- Katie Crutchfield – guitar, keys, synth, vocals
- Kyle Gilbride – guitar, keys, synth, tambourine
- Keith Spencer - guitar, bass, drums, keys
Recording
edit- Kyle Gilbride - producer, engineer
- Keith Spencer - producer
- Katie Crutchfield - producer
Artwork
edit- Jesse Riggins - photography
- Maggie Fost - design
Charts
edit| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[21] | 153 |
References
edit- ^ Barshad, Amos (1 April 2015). "The Heart of Waxahatchee". Grantland. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ^ "'Ivy Tripp' - Waxahatchee". Merge Records. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ^ a b c Brodsky, Rachel (13 January 2015). "Q&A: Waxahatchee Talks 'Ivy Tripp' and Resisting Liz Phair Comparisons". Spin. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (7 April 2015). "Album Of The Week: Waxahatchee - 'Ivy Tripp'". Stereogum. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ^ "Ivy Tripp by Waxahatchee reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
- ^ a b "Reviews for Ivy Tripp by Waxahatchee". Metacritic. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ^ Thomas, Fred. "Ivy Tripp – Waxahatchee". AllMusic. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ^ Anthony, David (April 7, 2015). "Waxahatchee crushes expectations and embraces new sounds on 'Ivy Tripp'". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ^ Kot, Greg (April 3, 2015). "Waxahatchee's 'Ivy Tripp' mixes anxiety and hope". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ^ a b Gibsone, Harriet (April 2, 2015). "Waxahatchee: 'Ivy Tripp' review – alt-rock solace in a cynical age". The Guardian. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ^ "Waxahatchee: Ivy Tripp". Mojo (258): 95. May 2015.
- ^ Cooper, Leonie (April 8, 2015). "Waxahatchee – 'Ivy Tripp'". NME. Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
- ^ a b Stosuy, Brandon (April 8, 2015). "Waxahatchee: Ivy Tripp". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ^ "Waxahatchee: Ivy Tripp". Q (346): 115. May 2015.
- ^ a b Grant, Sarah (April 7, 2015). "Ivy Tripp". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ^ a b Zaleski, Annie (April 7, 2015). "Review: Waxahatchee Brings the Pain (And '90s Alt-Rock) on 'Ivy Tripp'". Spin. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ^ Murphy, Sarah (2 April 2015). "Album Reviews: Waxahatchee - 'Ivy Tripp'". Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ^ Tomer, William (6 April 2015). "Waxahatchee - Ivy Tripp". Retrieved 7 April 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "The 15 Best Albums Of 2015". The A.V. Club. The Onion. December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2015". stereogum.com. 2015-12-01. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
- ^ "Waxahatchee Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2015.