Reviewing a review...

I reviewed the new Waxahatchee album over at Americana UK recently, and started a bit of a Twitter storm.

The fact that this album was being reviewed was at least partly because it had become an important release on the back of the hyperbole thrown around by The Guardian's reviewer. Katie Crutchfield (Waxahatchee herself) had stated that Lucinda Williams' Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, one of the cornerstones of Americana, was her primary influence for her shift towards Americana based music. Having been accused of negativity and for reviewing The Guardian review rather than the album, neither of which accusation stand up if you actually read my piece I felt a bit of explanation and defence was called for.

• I gave the album a score of 6, if you go by the Pitchfork rating system this means: "Has its moments, but isn't strong" , negative would have been 4 or below and it wasn't that bad...

• It wasn't me who made the comparison to Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, Crutchfield set herself up for that one. It would have been easy to rip her to shreds for it, I chose not to take the cheap shot. That would have been negative.

• I simply wasn't hearing what other reviewers were hearing. I don't think it's very good and can't see myself listening to it again, ever.

•  That makes my suggestion that it doesn't in my opinion match up to Car Wheels... valid. I have played that album regularly since it came out and don't expect to stop now.

Does my opinion matter? No, of course it doesn't. Any more than the opinion of The Guardian matters. Let's see what the view of Saint Cloud is at the end of the year.

The Guardian review

Americana UK review