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
Photo by Rachel Cassels The Cairo Gang is mostly Emmett Kelly, who recorded most of their upcoming album, Goes Missing, on his own while travelling. "Be What You Are" is pure pop gold, reminiscent of British invasion bands like The Kinks and The Zombies. It features jangly guitars and some of the most infectious layered vocals you've heard in years. Luckily the beauty of this style of music is that it never quite sounds dated. It might sound like it's from a certain era that happened 50 years ago, but everything you've ever listened to since then borrows so heavily from it that it always sounds current. It's the kind of music you wish you hadn't missed, only now you haven't. Goes Missing is due out June 23rd on God? Records. You can pre-order the album now, and be sure to check out The Cairo Gang's Facebook . Listen to "Be What You Are" below, and below that are tour dates, many opening for Mikal Cronin. Sat. Sept. 5 - Portlan...
With this weekend's upcoming Newport Folk Festival, we thought we'd highlight some of this year's can't miss acts. We're focusing on the bands playing smaller stages and earlier in the day. I mean, you're obviously going to see Ryan Adams and Jack White. Instead, these are the acts worth getting there early for, and seeking out the smaller stages. Phox Friday, 1:50, Quad Stage Phox hails from Baraboo, WI, the winter home of the Ringling Brothers' Circus. I'm not sure if that is connected to their music or not, but Phox has an otherworldly charm and a magical feel. They come across as a more grounded St. Vincent or a less intense version of early Tori Amos. Their music is simply beautiful and uplifting. Reignwolf Friday, 2:55, Quad Stage Truly pushing the boundaries of what can be considered "folk" are Reignwolf. Reignwolf is Jordan Cook, who sounds like a mixture of The Black Keys and Queens of the Stone Age, mixed with just a lit...
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.
