Tristan Dougherty And The Heart Pines Gather At A Pastoral Crossroads On “Indecision Waltz”

The placement of whether to leave or stay has long been a staple of popular music. Most famously framed as a punk expression in The Clash’s seminal “Should I Stay Or Should I Go,” the theme spans genres and generations, from The Beatles’ “I’m Looking Through You” to Jay-Z’s “Song Cry.” Above all the stylistic approaches though, folk and Americana have proven to be exceptionally fertile ground for the sentiment, with their pastoal textures lending themselves to honest reckonings with fractured relationships, either as bittersweet acts of release in Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” or as a victim of circumstance in Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.” Despite its enduring presence, this emotional terrain remains far from exhausted, and recently, it’s been inhabited by Richmond’s own Tristan Dougherty and his backing band The Heart Pines in the new video for “Indecision Waltz.”

Over a glowing bed of rootsy arrangement, the song wastes no time establishing its central plea: an urgent desire to escape emotional limbo. “Please make a decision so I can be on my way,” Dougherty requests, his delivery both solemn and resonant, surrounded by genial strings that offer gentle direction within an otherwise aimless predicament. When the harmonies with Psalm Araujo enter, the song begins to embody both possible outcomes: Araujo’s timbre leading a note of hope to the uncertainty, while Dougherty’s voice settles into a lifted yet still sober resignation. “How we might somehow be together one day,” they sing later in tandem, underscoring how even a definitive answer leaves the future open and unbound.

Shot by Robin Pyle of Vertical Sandbox at the Sill & Glade Cabin recording studio in Harrisonburg, the video features Dougherty alongside The Heart Pines: Zack Miller on fiddle, Zach Hudgins on bass, and Araujo on backing vocals. The latter previously performed with Dougherty as the duo Flicker & Flame, a name echoed in Dougherty’s recent album A Flicker, A Flame and subtly woven into the lyrics of “Indecision Waltz.” It’s the same lineup and setting seen across several videos Dougherty released in 2025–“Fault Line,” “If I Needed You,” “Fading Away,” and “Fall”–a winning combination that captures the band’s homespun charm through rustic backdrops and vivid storytelling.

“Indecision Waltz” arrives on the heels of A Flicker, A Flame, released in October 2025, Dougherty’s first record in two years following 2023’s Roaring & Wild. That earlier album featured its own pair of waltzes–“Sable’s Waltz” and “Stella’s Waltz–two brief but memorable instrumentals that showcased Dougherty’s nimble dexterity. “Indecision Waltz” approaches the folk dance form differently and has long been a staple of Dougherty’s live sets, with the track currently slated for inclusion on a new record due out later in 2026.

Watch the video for “Indecision Waltz” below and make sure to Tristan Dougherty on social media and bookmark his website for more updates.