I Walked with You a Ways by Plains

When you want a new Waxahatchee (#1 in 2020) album but can’t have a new Waxahatchee album, having an album that Waxahatchee, aka Katie Crutchfield, sings beautiful duets with another lovely voice, that of Jess Williamson, is more than enough to tide you over. Together, Crutchfield and Williamson become Plains, a couple of southern belles with hearts of gold, setting aside their indie-rock roots to dive deeper into their countryfied pasts.

Plains harkens back to those halcyon days of popular country music. Long before mainstream country found their post-9/11 conservative and nationalist voice, the mass, approachable appeal of 90s country reigned high. My own countryfied past is eating it up. I grew up in Oklahoma, and while my family listened to classic rock in my younger days, when I started finding my own musical tastes, I was heavily influenced by the juke box at my local Pizza Hut. The Cure next to Garth Brooks. Guns N Roses alongside Mary Chapin Carpenter. Boys II Men paired with Dwight Yoakam. It was a magical, cross-genre landscape (with a distinct lack of hip hop) that introduced me to much more music than I would have heard in my little KMOD 97.5 FM bubble. There are lots of things I’d rather not remember from my Oklahoma past. Singing Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, and Reba McEntire songs loudly while driving the backroads of suburban Tulsa in my beater Chevy is not something I’ll ever forget.

The video for “Hurricane,” shown above, brings back the Glamour-shot visuals of those days as well. It is truly a joy to listen to as well as watch. Two other videos have been put out by the duo, one for the unbelievably catchy “Abilene,” and another for the equally great “Problem With It.”

Earlier in 2022, Katie Crutchfield gave us a hint of where she was heading with Plains before we even knew that Plains existed: she performed a duet with one of her idols, Wynonna Judd, one-half of one of the most successful country acts of all time, The Judds. Judd and Crutchfield wrote and performed a new song together, “Other Side,” and its probably a little too country for my current tastes. But Crutchfield’s voice… sigh.

This isn’t the last country-ish album that will be featured on the 2022 Bacon Top 31, but it’s the most country of them all. Crutchfield and Williamson gave us something we didn’t know we needed, and it is perfect.

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14. The Last Goodbye by Odesza
15. A Light for Attracting Attention by The Smile
16. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar
17. Inside Problems by Andrew Bird
18. Laurel Hell by Mitski
19. Full Moon Project by Phosphorescent
20. Skinty Fia by Fontaines D.C.
21. I Love You Jennifer B by Jockstrap
22. Too Much to Ask by Cheekface
23. Dripfield by Goose
24. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief
25. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood
26. NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK
27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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Full Album
All albums in their entirety.

Radio Station
A single song selection pulled from each album.

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