Plains: I Walked With You A Ways [Album Review]

Plains
I Walked With You A Ways
ANTI- [2022]

“If it’s all you got, yeah, it’s all you gave, I got a problem with it. If you can’t do better than that, babe, I got a problem with it.” This is the catchy chorus you hear in Plains single, “Problem With It,” and it is incredibly hard to get out of your head. This memorable track is just one great example of the heartfelt songwriting that you will find on the debut from this duo composed of Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson.

I Walked With You A Ways is a very straightforward Americana roots record and even finds itself wading into its own indie country pop style. Now, if you heard Waxahatchee’s fantastic 2020 record Saint Cloud, you will not even be surprised of how comfortable Crutchfield sounds in this genre. Both her and Williamson are more known for their indie credibility, but both went down a dustier road with each of their 2020 records. That ease with the style and with each other gives Plains its natural sounding energy. If you didn’t know the members’ background, you would never guess that they haven’t always been belting out these Southern twang filled tunes.

As you might expect, both Crutchfield and Williamson both write the compositions and trade lead vocal duties. The most important ingredient of Plains success though is how their floating harmonizing gives each track its lived in vibe while also sounding so natural. Right now, it seems that Plains may only be a one-time collaborative side project for this duo but based upon the strength of I Walked With You A Ways lets hope that this is a duo that will find more time to spend together somewhere in the near future!

KEY TRACKS
“Problem With It” / “Line Of Sight” / “No Record Of Wrongs”

ARTISTS WITH SIMILAR FIRE
The Judds / Lucinda Williams / The Highwomen

ARTIST LINKS
Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Bandcamp | ANTI-

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Thomas Wilde

Thomas has a wide range of musical tastes as the NYC scene consistently broadens his pallet. Thomas is enjoying the opportunity to write at TFN and in his spare time is always looking for limited pressings of vinyl to add to his ever growing collection.

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