Despite releasing the excellent Planet (i) earlier this year, Squirrel Flower is set to release a new EP next month. Planet consists of self-recorded demos of songs that didn't make it to the album, songs that were recorded for the album but left off, and a Bjork cover. Upon listening to "ruby at dawn," these songs are hardly leftovers. It may be a little stripped down compared to Planet (i), but this new song has everything we love from Squirrel Flower. It's a beautiful and haunting song with roots in indie rock, folk, and pop. It's one of Squirrel Flower's songs that puts Ella Williams' vocals out front, for good reason. Williams is particularly captivating on "ruby at dawn" with her voice just building throughout the song.
You can listen to "ruby at dawn" below. Planet is due out January 28 on Polyvinyl. You can pre-order/pre-save the EP here. For more on Squirrel Flower, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the song.
Thu. Feb. 3 - Urbana, IL @ Rose Bowl Tavern % Fri. Feb. 4 - Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe % Sat. Feb. 5 - Hamtramck, MI @ The Sanctuary % Sun. Feb. 6 - Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s 20 Lanes % Mon. Feb. 7 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe % Wed. Feb. 9 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge % Thu. Feb. 10 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair % Fri. Feb. 11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right & Sat. Feb. 12 - Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA & Mon. Feb. 14 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd & Wed. Feb. 16 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle - Back Room & Thu. Feb. 17 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (Purgatory) & Fri. Feb. 18 - Nashville, TN @ The High Watt & Sat. Feb. 19 - Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar & Sun. Feb. 20 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern & Wed. March 2 - St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill Duck Room @ Thu. March 3 - Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge @ Fri. March 4 - Dallas, TX @ Ruins @ Sat. March 5 - Austin, TX @ Meanwhile Brewing @ Mon. March 7- Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress @ Tue. March 8 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar @ Wed. March 9 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo @ Thu. March 10 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop @ Sat. March 12 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall @ Sun. March 13 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza @ Tue. March 15 - Boise, ID @ The Shredder @ Thu. March 17 - Denver, CO @ Lost Lake Lounge @ Sat. March 19 - Omaha, NE @ Reverb @ Sun. March 20 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry @ Sun. April 17 - Glasgow, UK @ Nice N Sleazy Mon. April 18 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club Wed. April 20 - Manchester, UK @ The White Hotel Thu. April 21 - London, UK @ Lafayette Sat. April 23 - Bristol, UK @ The Louisiana Sun. April 24 - Brighton, UK @ The Green Door Store Tue. April 26 - Cologne, DE @ Blue Shell Wed. April 27 - Luxembourg, LU @ Rotondes Thu. April 28 - Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Skybar Fri. April 29 - Berlin, DE @ Badehaus Sun. May 1 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso (Small Hall) Tue. May 3 - Zürich, CH @ Bogen F Wed. May 4 - Paris, FR @ Hasard Ludique Thu. May 5 - Gent, BE @ Charlatan % w/ Mia Joy & w/ Christelle Bofale @ w/ Tenci $ w/ Maria BC
Photo by Alexa Viscius This may be Liam Kazar's debut single, but the Chicago based musician already has an impressive resume, having worked with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and others. "Shoes Too Tight" features childhood friend Spencer Tweedy on drums, Lane Beckstrom on bass, and Ohmme on vocals. It's an absurdly fun and groovy little song that is a party waiting to happen. What he gives us here is a timeless song that could truly have been released any time since the 1960's (ok... maybe not the 80's...) There are elements of classic rock, 60's crooners and R&B, indie rock, modern Americana... it's really just packed with everything in a cohesive song that maintains the vibe the entire way through. You can watch the video for "Shoes Too Tight" below. For more on Liam Kazar, check him out on Instagram and Twitter . He's also raising money on his Bandcamp for Constellation and The Hungry Brain. ...
How is Dutch ReBelle not a national superstar at this point? The Boston MC just released "GOONIEZ," and I know I'm a bit out of touch with current mainstream hip hop, but this song is absolutely killer. It's a stripped down hip hop song that has this futuristic space age sound to it. Plus, ReBelle's flow is unsurpassed. You can't listen to her and not be completely sucked in. The song has a feel reminiscent of classic Missy Elliott. As much as I love that we can still see Dutch ReBelle in smaller Boston venues, "GOONIEZ" proves she should be playing much larger venues nationwide very, very soon. You can watch the video for "GOONIEZ" below. For more on Dutch ReBelle, check out the artist's website .
Photo via Facebook When you're a rock band from Salem, MA, you have to have at least one song about witchcraft. The Freqs have fulfilled their obligation with a banger of a song. "Witch" is this giant monster of a song, filled with fuzz and strained, screaming vocals. This is the type of song that doesn't usually exist in this century. It's giving me some serious 90's flashbacks, like if Hum got aggressive or Alice in Chains decided to do some damage on the college charts. As great as the vocals are in "Witch," what's really drawing me in is the instrumental break down that takes over about halfway through. This is the kind of song to make the hipsters and the headbangers equally excited. You can listen to "Witch" below. For more on The Freqs, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram . The Freqs · Witch