Allison Crutchfield is a Philadelphia-based indie rock/punk singer/songwriter. You probably know her twin sister Katie as the frontwoman of the amazing band Waxahatchee. The recent Waxahatchee record Ivy Tripp was among my favourite albums of 2015. You might also remember that the Alabama native twin sisters were in a band called P.S. Eliot. Both Crutchfield girls played on the Waxahatchee tour of the UK promoting the Ivy Tripp album.
You may also remember that Allison was the front of a band called Swearin. She’s stepped away from that band, at least for a moment. She’s now on Merge Records (same as her sister), and she’s set to release her solo debut early next year. It’s a little punky, a little poppy, and even a little gothy. And it has enormous hooks. After the drum-heavy, fuzzy intro, the particular way the keyboards mix with the guitars and bass . The chorus is big and bright with vocals way up front.
I don’t know how the rest of the album sounds, but this is big and fun. Allison says that she went through a lot of life changes in the last two years. She says that big changes will often trigger a panic button, but that in the end, most people will emerge triumphant on the other side. That, apparently, is what her record is about.
Personnel:
Allison Crutchfield: synthesizer, piano, guitars, vocals
Sam Cook-Parrott: bass, additional guitars on tracks 2, 3, 4, and 6, additional vocals on track 8
Joey Doubek: drums, percussion
Katie Crutchfield: additional vocals on (prologue) and tracks 2, 6, and 10
Jeff Zeigler: modular synth, drum machine programming
Tourist in This Town will come out on January 27th, 2017 via Merge Records. In case you’re wondering, Katie did some vocals on three songs from this album, .
The Fat Angel Sings 