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
Photo by Joanna Chattman I've been referring to Northampton, MA based Izzy Heltai's music as mainstream modern folk with just enough of a unique spin to keep it appealing to music snobs, too. His latest single, "Father," might be the perfect example of that. It's a quiet, deeply personal song that starts off painfully sparse but ever so slowly builds and builds as it goes on. It walks that line between accessible/mainstream and indie expertly. You can watch the video for "Father" below. Father , the upcoming debut album from Izzy Heltai, will be out October 9. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Izzy Heltai, check out the artist's website .
Photo by Alexa Viscius This may be Liam Kazar's debut single, but the Chicago based musician already has an impressive resume, having worked with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and others. "Shoes Too Tight" features childhood friend Spencer Tweedy on drums, Lane Beckstrom on bass, and Ohmme on vocals. It's an absurdly fun and groovy little song that is a party waiting to happen. What he gives us here is a timeless song that could truly have been released any time since the 1960's (ok... maybe not the 80's...) There are elements of classic rock, 60's crooners and R&B, indie rock, modern Americana... it's really just packed with everything in a cohesive song that maintains the vibe the entire way through. You can watch the video for "Shoes Too Tight" below. For more on Liam Kazar, check him out on Instagram and Twitter . He's also raising money on his Bandcamp for Constellation and The Hungry Brain. ...
Lex Leosis might be Toronto based, but she spent a lot of time in California's Bay Area working on her hip hop sound. She's also traveled all over the United States to collaborate with other artists. Her latest single, "Mind Your Business," has a strong 90's hip hop feel to it. It's dripping with attitude, and Leosis's flow is in full on attack mode. The 90's vibe could be because of the fact that there is no R&B chorus, keeping the song pure hip hop, which is rare these days. This reminds me a lot of Oompa's songs, which is a huge compliment coming from us. You can listen to "Mind Your Business" below. Mythologies , the upcoming album from Lex Leosis, will be out later this year. For more on Lex Leosis, check out her Facebook . Mind Your Business by Lex Leosis
