Waxahatchee Shares New Saint Cloud Single and Music Video, “Lilacs”

Waxahatchee, the music project of songwriter Katie Crutchfield, shares the single “Lilacs” ahead of her much-anticipated fifth studio album Saint Cloud, along with a music video featuring dancer Marlee Grace grooving in what seems to be a vacant brick building.

Saint Cloud is set to hit shelves on March 27, and the single “Fire” from the record was shared earlier this year. The album embraces an Americana aesthetic, even leaning into country twang and pared-down instrumentals in order to let Crutchfield’s voice shine. The album was written in the wake of Crutchfield deciding to get sober, which makes the album a self-examination—and even a letter of self-love and encouragement at times.

“Lilacs” in particular conveys a grappling to come to terms with not being loved well enough, either by a significant other or oneself: “If I’m a broken record write it in the dust, babe / I’ll fill myself back up like I used to do / And if my bones are made of delicate sugar / I won’t end up anywhere good without you / I need your love too.”

Crutchfield says of 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 of letting your worst self get the best of 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 of plays out like a conflict you’d have with someone you love. It’s meant to capture that moment of 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,” she adds. “I wanted it to feel like the light at the end of the tunnel, and the reminder that it can always and often does get better.”