Lately Squirrel Flower has been delving into a more rock based sound, and Ella Williams' latest single fits that sound perfectly. "Intheskatepark" could have been your standard folk-adjacent indie rock song, especially as Williams' vocals seem to be more along the lines of singer-songwriter style music than a hard rocker. But there's this fuzzed out guitar throughout the entire song that isn't quite grunge or punk, but does dance right along the line of those genres. It gives the song an indie rock and DIY feel we haven't typically heard with Squirrel Flower.
Ella Williams says of her latest single:
“I wrote this song in 2019 on a little toy synthesizer. To me, this song is everlasting summer — even as things change, seasons, feelings, relationships, you can still try and feel the perfect lightness of summer, of a new crush, of a pop riff. It's best listened to while biking around in the sunshine.”
You can listen to "Intheskatepark" 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 song.
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/ Truth Club ~ w/ Merce Lemon & w/ Knifeplay ^ w/ Goon * w/ Cryogeyser ∞ w/ alexalone ¢ w/ Greg Mendez
Somehow Peter Prescott of Mission of Burma and Volcano Suns has another band that I never knew about. Minibeast already released an album that I completely missed back in 2012, and they are currently at work on the follow up, Free Will. Based on a track from the upcoming album, "High Sea," Minibeast shares some common sonic ground with Mission of Burma, but with an added emphasis on the groovy side of things. It's basically the noise and dissonance of Burma but heard through a 60s surf groove, as if Frankie and Annette were punks. You can listen to "High Sea" below. Minibeast currently have a Kickstarter to help fund the final production of Free Will. You can get more information on that here . It should be out sometime in June.
Earlier this week I was expressing sympathy for Limp Bizkit. Limp Bizkit just don't seem to be riding that surge of 90s nostalgia that all sorts of other terrible bands from that era are. Sure, they're terrible. But are they really that much worse than Filter, Alien Ant Farm, and other bands on those 90s nostalgia packages. And then this video is released. The first lyrics to the song are literally "Go fuck yourself." It then features Fred Durst sitting on a toilet, bikini clad chicks pretending to fellate garden hoses and leaf blowers, and Fred Durst talking about fucking bitches, all while wearing a hoodie and a backwards red baseball hat. Then Lil Wayne comes out. Please keep in mind Fred Durst is a 42 year old man.
Photo by Annabel Kean For their latest single, New Zealand's The Beths have released "Mother, Pray for Me." This is a heartbreaking ballad consisting of Elizabeth Stokes' vocals and guitar with just the slightest hint of organ. It's a deeply personal song for Stokes, made obvious with how intimately the song comes across. It truly feels almost confessional, and it's quite simply beautiful. The Beths are most known for huge little indie rock gems perfect for bopping along to, but "Mother, Pray for Me" is quite the opposite. Stokes' vocals and lyrics are right up front on this one, and I can't imagine it any other way. Elizabeth Stokes says of her latest single: “I cried the whole time writing it. It's not really about my mother, it's about me — what I hope our relationship is, what I think it is, what it maybe actually is, and what I can or can't expect out of it. “My mother is a first gen Indonesian immigrant, and very Catholic....
