When Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson decided to collaborate, they didn’t treat it as a lark, some mere noodling that might provide a B-side or two. They came up with enough material for a full studio album and recorded it all with an aces band down in Durham, North Carolina. The took the name Plains for this project. The first tantalizing listen to their work together in the new track “Problem with It,” which has an obvious kinship with both Crutchfield’s last album as Waxahatchee, the amazing Saint Cloud, and Williamson’s solo work. The other immediate comparison to comes to mind is Lucinda Williams at the Car Wheels on a Gravel Road peak of her considerable powers, which should be enough to convey that the song is goddamned amazing.

I Walked with You a Ways, the debut (and announced as only) album from Plains, is scheduled for release in October.