Plains (Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson) Don’t Talk About “Abilene” in New Song: Stream

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.”

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.