What is old is made new again.
One year ago, Katie Crutchfield released her grungiest, most rock’n’roll album yet under her Waxahatchee moniker with Out in the Storm. It was a move away from her musically-sparse beginnings. But with her upcoming EP, Crutchfield is heading back towards a focus on her acoustic guitar and her stunning voice.
“Chapel of Pines,” the first song from that release, is a piece from her previous group, Great Thunder. Now, years later, it’s been given new life, its lyrics of quiet reflection just as powerful. Over gentle folk strums and a light touch of piano, she asks, “Will you settle where you stand or keep it to yourself?,” before repeating over and over, “Will you go?” Its beauty is in its simplicity, with the types of questions that can never really be answered.
“Chapel of Pines” will be on Waxahatchee’s upcoming Great Thunder EP, out on Sept. 9.