Waxahatchee | photo courtesy of the artist
Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield revisits her Great Thunder project on new EP
Waxahatchee has announced the release of Great Thunder, an EP named for Katie Crutchfield’s now dormant project with Swearin’ bassist Keith Spencer featuring re-imagined versions of their songs. Following the release of her anthemic 2017 album Out in the Storm, this EP will be based more on Crutchfield’s folk and country influences. “I would say that it is a complete 180 from the last record: super stripped-down, quiet, and with me performing solo, it’s a throwback to how I started,” Crutchfield says in a statement. “Overall, the EP is a warm, kind of vibey recording.”
Along with the announcement comes a music video for the first single, titled “Chapel Of Pines” and starring Crutchfield along with Kevin Morby. Directed by Christopher Good, the music video is a hazy, dreamlike vignette of a couple wandering through fields and forests, and constructing a shelter of twigs and branches. Crutchfield’s voice is the clear highlight of the song, accompanied by acoustic guitar and piano, delicately arranged to show off her rusty and mature inflection, as she sings “Will you go?” Fittingly, Morby’s character disappears, making way for a third act twist I would hate to give away. The song itself is heart-achingly simplistic, feeling as timeless as any American folk tune.
The Great Thunder EP is set to release September 7th on Merge Records. You can catch Waxahatchee headlining the Philly Music Fest September 28th, opening for Courtney Barnett at the Fillmore, or check out more of her tour dates here. Pre-order the Great Thunder EP here.