Jess Williamson and Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield have shared “Abilene,” another new song from their project as Plains. Listen to the track — and watch Yoga with Adriene’s own Adriene Mishler star in its music video — below.
The classic country waltz melodies of “Abilene” soundtracks Plains’ journey to distance themselves from the Texas city, and the lives it once housed. “Young lovers like to dream/ We’ll settle down and we’ll make a good team/ Well Main Street was cute and the rents there were cheap/ But I was too much for you and for your Abilene,” Williamson sings.
Crutchfield shared the inspiration behind the latest Plains song in a statement. “The song ‘Abilene’ really solidified the vision of the album for me,” she said. “I’ll never forget how giddy I felt when Jess sent me the original demo. In a very stereotypical-of-a-songwriter way, Jess felt unsure if it fit or made sense and I reassured her immediately that this was probably my favorite song of the bunch. She achieved something really special in my view, which is writing a classic country waltz that feels extremely modern.”
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Williamson added, “In the video for ‘Abilene,’ my dear friend Adriene Mishler plays the narrator of the song. We see her struggle in the final stages of a romantic relationship and then make the hard decision to choose herself and leave. I think we all have our own personal ‘Abilene.’ Maybe it’s a place where you used to live and things didn’t turn out as planned, like in the song. It could also be a relationship that ended in disappointment, or a dream that turned into a hard reality, or even an old version of yourself that’s better left in the past. ‘Abilene’ is a song about knowing your worth, having courage in the face of an uncertain future, and trusting your gut.”
“Abilene” appears on I Walked with You a Ways, Plains’ debut album. The project arrives in full October 14th, and pre-orders are ongoing. Williamson and Crutchfield will support the album with a North American tour slated for this fall; tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster.