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 Tonje Thilesen Ezra Furman has to be one of the most unique and yet all encompassing artists out today. Her latest single, "Forever In Sunset," combines elements of singer/songwriter fare, electronic music, and indie rock. It's an intense song that is almost a power ballad but is a little too heavy at times for that. It's a mish-mash of glam, adult contemporary, and post punk. That should not work at all, but most artists aren't Furman who apparently can do literally anything musically and make it masterful. Ezra Furman says of her new song: “The biggest influence on the lyrics of this song is a conversation I had with a friend of mine. When Covid was first hitting, she was talking to me a lot about how ready she felt. She was like, ‘people who have been comfortable in life are freaking out right now. But queer people like me have been in crisis before. I grew up poor and my family kicked me out when I was a teenager. My world has already ended plenty of ...
Photo by Gia Smith There's prolific, and then there's Derek Smith. The Boston musician's latest single with the Cosmic Vultures, "Hollow Choir," is his eightieth song in the past eight years. It also helps explain the genre psychedelic folk-rock. The song is a little over three minutes, but the genre makes it feel much more epic. It's smooth sounding with trippy little flourishes, particularly in the guitar. At times, it sounds almost Adult Contemporary, but it's far too psychedelic for that. It's the play between the mainstream and the alternative side of folk that makes "Hollow Choir" work so well. Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures have long had this ability to provide a little something for everyone, and their latest proves that more than previous ones have. Derek Smith says of his latest single: “This song sums up the feelings I have had towards my music career for the last few years. I am always being told what I should do or what I sh...
Photo by Ebru Yildiz Somehow TORRES keeps surprising us with her music. The musical project of Mackenzie Scott has released a new single that features her vocals and acoustic guitar that would feel at home in a neo-folk song over a pre-programmed drum beat with sounds that at times are either a light squall of guitar feedback and electronic noises. The song has this haunting and unsettling feeling to it, despite sounding like it's trying to be upbeat. I'd say art doesn't always have to be a pleasant experience, but "I got the fear" can be a pleasant listening experience, except for the times it's not. Mackenzie Scott says of her latest single: “A collective dread has been mounting. Everyone I know is having a brawl with the universe, with themselves…wars, climate catastrophe, a pandemic, the worldwide regression on human rights, the political hellscape — it affects everybody, and I know we’re all feeling it in waves of varying degree all the time. I think it’s...