It's pretty obvious we're enamored with the music of Squirrel Flower. Ella Williams' musical project has long been a favorite around here, and her style of indie folk meets indie rock is perfect for us. Her latest single, "Full Time Job," fits right into Squirrel Flowers' catalog, but this is decidedly a rock song. Once the guitars kick in, the song becomes much more neo-grunge than indie folk. It's an unexpected stylistic change, but one that makes perfect sense. "Full Time Job" rocks more than what we're used to from Williams while still sounding like a Squirrel Flower song.
You can watch the video for "Full Time Job" 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.
Fri. July 21 - Lexington, KY @ The Burl * Wed. July 26 - St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway * Fri. Aug. 4 - Sun. Aug. 6 - Green Lake, WI @ Avrom Farm Party 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 @ DC 9 $^ 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 - Glasgow, UK @ McChuills Sat. Nov. 11 - 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 @ Rebel Lounge & Tue. Feb. 6 - Austin, TX @ The Ballroom + Wed. Feb. 7 - Dallas, TX @ Club Dada + Thu. Feb. 8 - Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic + Sat. Feb. 10 - Nashville, TN @ Blue Room at Third Man + Mon. Feb. 12 - Atlanta, GA @ 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 * supporting Hurray for the Riff Raff $ w/ Truth Club # w/ Merce Lemon ^ w/ Knifeplay % w/ Goon & w/ Cryogeyser + w/ Alexalone
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.
Photo by Cecil Sykes Midnight Peg are an Edmonton, AB based band that are referred to as "madhouse punk." Their latest single, "Thirstland," is a just barely under control two minute burst of punk. You have guitar riffs that will make you think of At the Drive In, and somewhat spoken and yelled vocals which create a feeling of chaos throughout. This is a loud and angry track that is completely in your face. But, unlike most tracks this loud and punk based, "Thirstland" still keeps a sense of art in their music. Midnight Peg feel like a higher class of loud, angry punk rock. This one is great, with just enough of an emo undercurrent to make the song kind of melodic and almost palatable to a mainstream audience. You can listen to "Thirstland" below. Skinning is due out in October on Thousand Island Records. For more on Midnight Peg, check out the artist's website .
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....
