Last year, I wrote a Band To Watch feature on the excellent Philly-via-Birmingham, AL indie-punk band Swearin’, whose frontwoman is Allison Crutchfield, formerly of P.S. Eliot. Also in P.S. Eliot was Katie Crutchfield, Allison’s sister, who now makes music as Waxahatchee. At some point, the two sisters and their two bands won’t be so easily or regularly conflated, but right now, it’s hard not to do so: Waxahatchee sounds a lot like Swearin’ — both bands write earnest, melodic, no-frills, ’90s-inspired indie rock, owing obvious debts to some pretty big names: Superchunk and Sleater-Kinney come to mind (so too do some giants of late-’90s emo-punk, Rainer Maria and the Get Up Kids). Waxahatchee are a bit more reflective, musically more acoustic-based, while Swearin’ are pretty explosive and electric-based. But both sisters have really similar vocal tones; moreover, both Allison and Swearin’ guitarist Kyle Gilbridge guest on Waxahatchee’s forthcoming album, Cerulean Salt, due out in March. We’ve got one song from the album here, “Peace And Quiet.” It’s a fantastic, downtempo ballad, with a bright focus on Katie’s expressive voice and her incredibly catchy melodies; the modest instrumentation builds to some pretty impressive peaks. The song is below, along with tour dates and album tracklisting. Check it out.

Waxahatchee tour dates:

01/29 Poughkeepsie, NY @ Vassar College
01/30 Wilkes-Barre, PA @ Crimson Lion Hookah Lounge
01/31 Ithaca, NY @ Cornell University
02/01 Cohoes, NY @ The Icehouse (house)
02/02 Burlington, VT @ Wristwrens (house)
02/03 Newmarket, NH @ Fuckingham Palace (house)
02/04 Cambridge, MA @ All Asia
02/05 Easthampton, MA @ The Flywheel
02/06 New Haven, CT @ PAC
02/07 New Paltz, NY @ Mosh Depot (house)
02/08 New York, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
02/09 Providence, RI @ Squidamps
02/16 Purchase, NY @ SUNY Purchase
03/12 – 3/17 Austin, TX @ SXSW

Cerulean Salt tracklist:

01 “Hollow Bedroom”
02 “Dixie Cups & Jars”
03 “Lips And Limbs”
04 “Blue Pt. II”
05 “Brother Bryan”
06 “Coast to Coast”
07 “Tangled Envisioning”
08 “Misery Over Dispute”
09 “Lively”
10 “Waiting”
11 “Swan Dive”
12 “Peace And Quiet”
13 “You’re Damanged”

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Cerulean Salt is out 3/5 via Don Giovanni Records.