American Weekend

American Weekend is the debut studio album by Katie Crutchfield under the moniker Waxahatchee, released in 2012. Following the breakup of her previous band, P.S. Eliot, Crutchfield retreated to her family's home near Waxahatchee Creek, Alabama, during a week-long snowstorm. Armed with only an acoustic guitar and a digital recorder, she tracked the entire album in seven days. This isolation is baked into the record's DNA; it is a stark departure from the punk-inflected indie rock of her earlier work, opting instead for a minimalist, lo-fi folk sound. The lyrics are diaristic and unflinching, dealing with themes of substance abuse, heartbreak, and the search for identity in the American South. Critically, it was hailed as a breakthrough for the DIY scene, drawing comparisons to the early work of Liz Phair and Elliott Smith. It remains a definitive example of the 'bedroom folk' movement of the early 2010s.