Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield and California singer-songwriter Jess Williamson are teaming up to create a new collaborative project, Plains. Sonically, the project is similar to Waxahatchee’s rootsy indie rock, but putting it under the Plains name could allow the duo to not feel constrained by the expectations people have for a Waxahatchee release. The duo’s record I Walked With You a Ways is releasing October 14.
Plains is being pushed as a one-time-only collaboration and is described in a press release as “It’s a moment in time, to be enjoyed right now before the project evaporates forever.” In a world where art has now been relegated to images on a screen that will never decrease in quality, the flash-in-a-pan nature of Plains is something to take note of. While the nitty gritty of the project is not known, the whole experience of Plains can be compared to a traveling musical. They have their tour planned, and once it is done, it is done…and it is time for the next thing.
But this is not some single-use plastic of music, because what makes it so special is that you will only be able fully experience Plains this fall. While we will have the recorded music of Plains forever it will begin to feel like listening to the music of long gone bands of the 20th century. People will be pining to see them live. Crutchfield and Williamson have some sort of vision for this project and seeing how they execute this concept will be interesting.
Their first single “Problem With It” released today, with an accompanying music video. Their fall tour begins October 21 in Seattle, and the duo will be making a stop at Philadelphia’s Union Transfer on November 10 with opener MJ Lenderman. More information can be found at the WXPN Concerts and Events page.