Underwhelming brilliance from a country-pop stalwart

Waxahatchee delivers a superlative set at Hammersmith’s Apollo, says Louis Chilton, the only fault being its perfection

- Louis Chilton

In a strange way, the greatest compliment you could pay Waxahatchee - the longstanding creative project of Alabamaborn musician Katie Crutchfield - is that their set feels ever so faintly underwhelming. Over the course of a stirring 90 minutes at Hammersmith’s Eventim Apollo, Crutchfield and her fiveperson Americana band pluck from her two best albums, Saint Cloud (2020) and Tigers Blood (2024), with total aplomb. It’s a night of polished exceptionalism: the musicianship, and Crutchfield’s singing – heavy musical artillery, a voice that’s rangy and complexly sad – are more or less perfect.