Squirrel Flower - "Alley Light"

Photo by Alexa Viscius

Squirrel Flower (aka Chicago based artist Ella Williams) has been making indie folk for a while, but her latest singles show her moving in a more rock oriented direction. Last month's "Full Time Job" could best be described as neo-grunge. Her latest, "Alley Light," takes a step back a bit but is still a rock song. It has the anthemic feel of a Bruce Springsteen song backed by a wall of indie rock noise. It's quite removed from Williams' previous music, but it still fits right in with the albums that came before. It's a bit of an unexpected turn while still sounding like a song from Squirrel Flower.

Ella Williams says of her new single:

"This song is about the man in me, or a man who I love, or a man who is a stranger to me. The video references a neo-noir Chicago heist movie where they use this thermal metal contraption to cut into a safe. They run around the city making sparks fly and getting up to no good. I wanted to do all that."

You can watch the video for "Alley Light" below. Tomorrow's Fire is due out October 13 on Polyvinyl, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Squirrel Flower, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.

Thu. Aug. 24 - Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed $
Thu. Oct. 19 - Detroit, MI @ Lager House %
Fri. Oct. 20 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern %
Sat. Oct. 21 - Toronto, ON @ Monarch Tavern ~
Sun. Oct. 22 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Bottlerocket Social Hall ~
Tue. Oct. 24 - Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall &
Thu. Oct. 26 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom &
Fri. Oct. 27 - Philadelphia, PA @ Ukie Club %
Sat. Oct. 28 - Washington, DC @ DC9 &
Sat. Nov. 4 - Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade
Sun. Nov. 5 - Brighton, UK @ The Hope and Ruin
Mon. Nov. 6 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Tue. Nov. 7 - Manchester, UK @ Gullivers
Thu. Nov. 9 - Edinburgh, UK @ Voodoo Rooms
Sat. Nov. 11 - London, UK @ Pitchfork Music Festival London - EartH (Downstairs)
Mon. Nov. 13 - Paris, FR @ Supersonic
Wed. Nov. 15 - Rotterdam, NL @ V11
Thu. Nov. 16 - Brussels, BE @ Botanique
Sat. Nov. 18 - Berlin, DE @ Lark
Sat. Jan. 20 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry ^
Sun. Jan. 21 -  Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge ^
Tue. Jan. 23 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge ^
Thu. Jan. 25 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court ^
Fri. Jan. 26 - Boise, ID @ The Shredder ^
Sat. Jan. 27 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios ^
Mon. Jan. 29 - Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s
Wed. Jan. 31 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill ^
Fri. Feb. 2 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room *
Sat. Feb. 3 - Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room *
Sun. Feb. 4 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge *
Tue. Feb. 6 -  Austin, TX @ The Ballroom ∞
Wed. Feb. 7 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada ∞
Thu. Feb. 8 -  Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge ¢
Fri. Feb. 9 - St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill Duck Room ¢
Sat. Feb. 10 - Nashville, TN @ Third Man Records - Blue Room ¢
Mon. Feb. 12 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade - Purgatory ¢
Wed. Feb. 14 -  Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle - Back Room ¢
Thu. Feb. 15 - Richmond, VA @ The Camel ¢
Fri. Feb. 16 - Woodstock, NY @ Colony ¢
Sat. Feb. 17 - Amherst, MA @ The Drake ¢
 
$ w/ Beach Bunny
% w/ Truth Club
~ w/ Merce Lemon
& w/ Knifeplay
^ w/ Goon
* w/ Cryogeyser
∞ w/ alexalone
¢ w/ Greg Mendez