#143: St. Cloud
Ranking The “250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far” (2025)
In 2025, Rolling Stone released their list of “250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far.” I am working my way though the list, from #250 to #1, reviewing each. It’s a fascinating opportunity to revisit old favourites, and maybe discover new ones.
Waxahatchee, 2020
Love this one. Waxahatchee is Katie Crutchfield, and she just continues to make great album after album. I suspect that 2024’s Tigers Blood will appear on a list like this in a few years’ time.
St. Cloud is an Americana-adjacent indie rock album, with sparse instrumentation and twangy vocals. My favourites are “Lilacs,” “Witches,” and “Can’t Do Much.” The title track closes the album, and it’s a quiet, beautiful song.
This album reminded me of 2025’s Snocaps, from a supergroup of the same name, comprised of Katie, her twin sister Allison, MJ Lenderman, and Brad Cook. Those songs are folksy-indie rock, seemingly tailor-made for vinyl close listening. Even the cover has a soft-lens feel to it:
Allison Crutchfield also has an album on this list under her band’s name Swearin’, as does MJ Lenderman with his 2024 album Manning Fireworks. Both were great listens!
