Waxahatchee – "Lilacs"

Waxahatchee’s fifth album, Saint Cloud, is coming out at the end next month. So far, Katie Crutchfield has shared its lead single, “Fire,” which topped our Best Songs Of The Week list, and today she’s putting out another new song, “Lilacs,” which is somehow even better than the first.

“Lilacs” is twangy and precise — the Lucinda Williams energy is strong on this one — and it finds Crutchfield in the middle an argument with herself, playing out a repetitive cycle self-doubt until the end time. “If I’m a broken record, write it in the dust, babe/ I’ll fill myself back up like I used to do” she sings in the chorus. “And if my bones are made delicate sugar/ I won’t end up anywhere good without you/ I need your love too.”

Here’s what Crutchfield said about the song in a statement:

‘Lilacs’ was the last song i wrote for the record and it’s mostly just about obsessive/negative thought patterns. It’s about backsliding into old behaviors that don’t serve you and sort letting your worst self get the best you. I think that when people are in that mindset they can really try to turn the blame onto other people, so the song sort plays out like a conflict you’d have with someone you love. It’s meant to capture that moment heat that happens right when you realize you’re wrong or that your issue is more with yourself than with someone else – being flawed and fragile but making progress inch by inch. The chorus serves as a sweet little resolve. I wanted it to feel like the light at the end the tunnel and the reminder that it can always and ten does get better.

The song’s video features dancer Marlee Grace and was directed by Ashley Connor. It was shot at Basilica Hudson in upstate New York. Watch and listen below.

Saint Cloud is out 3/27 Merge Records. Pre-order it here.