Despite releasing the excellent Planet (i) earlier this year, Squirrel Flower is set to release a new EP next month. Planet consists of self-recorded demos of songs that didn't make it to the album, songs that were recorded for the album but left off, and a Bjork cover. Upon listening to "ruby at dawn," these songs are hardly leftovers. It may be a little stripped down compared to Planet (i), but this new song has everything we love from Squirrel Flower. It's a beautiful and haunting song with roots in indie rock, folk, and pop. It's one of Squirrel Flower's songs that puts Ella Williams' vocals out front, for good reason. Williams is particularly captivating on "ruby at dawn" with her voice just building throughout the song.
You can listen to "ruby at dawn" below. Planet is due out January 28 on Polyvinyl. You can pre-order/pre-save the EP here. For more on Squirrel Flower, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the song.
Thu. Feb. 3 - Urbana, IL @ Rose Bowl Tavern % Fri. Feb. 4 - Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe % Sat. Feb. 5 - Hamtramck, MI @ The Sanctuary % Sun. Feb. 6 - Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s 20 Lanes % Mon. Feb. 7 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe % Wed. Feb. 9 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge % Thu. Feb. 10 - Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair % Fri. Feb. 11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right & Sat. Feb. 12 - Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA & Mon. Feb. 14 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd & Wed. Feb. 16 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle - Back Room & Thu. Feb. 17 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (Purgatory) & Fri. Feb. 18 - Nashville, TN @ The High Watt & Sat. Feb. 19 - Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar & Sun. Feb. 20 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern & Wed. March 2 - St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill Duck Room @ Thu. March 3 - Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge @ Fri. March 4 - Dallas, TX @ Ruins @ Sat. March 5 - Austin, TX @ Meanwhile Brewing @ Mon. March 7- Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress @ Tue. March 8 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar @ Wed. March 9 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo @ Thu. March 10 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop @ Sat. March 12 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall @ Sun. March 13 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza @ Tue. March 15 - Boise, ID @ The Shredder @ Thu. March 17 - Denver, CO @ Lost Lake Lounge @ Sat. March 19 - Omaha, NE @ Reverb @ Sun. March 20 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry @ Sun. April 17 - Glasgow, UK @ Nice N Sleazy Mon. April 18 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club Wed. April 20 - Manchester, UK @ The White Hotel Thu. April 21 - London, UK @ Lafayette Sat. April 23 - Bristol, UK @ The Louisiana Sun. April 24 - Brighton, UK @ The Green Door Store Tue. April 26 - Cologne, DE @ Blue Shell Wed. April 27 - Luxembourg, LU @ Rotondes Thu. April 28 - Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Skybar Fri. April 29 - Berlin, DE @ Badehaus Sun. May 1 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso (Small Hall) Tue. May 3 - Zürich, CH @ Bogen F Wed. May 4 - Paris, FR @ Hasard Ludique Thu. May 5 - Gent, BE @ Charlatan % w/ Mia Joy & w/ Christelle Bofale @ w/ Tenci $ w/ Maria BC
New York's Momma recently signed to Polyvinyl Record Co. and released their first single on their new label. "Medicine" has a great mid-90's alternative rock vibe. It's the kind of sound that was edgy at the time and would never have been considered pop, but by 2021 standards is poppy as hell. "Medicine" is fuzzy guitars mixed with vocal harmonies like the early releases of bands like Veruca Salt or that dog. This is the kind of song that is going to make you completely nostalgic for your college days, until you realize that Momma probably considers their sound "retro."
In a press release, Momma says of their new song:
“The two guitar riffs were written by Etta and Allegra about a year before we actually brought it to the full band. When we wrote the first verse, we realized it was one of the first times we couldn’t write about heartbreak - we were both in very loving relationships. We wanted to write about that feeling of just being addicted to someone, and how someone else’s company can really feel like a drug.”
You can watch the video for "Medicine" below. The song is available now as a single via Polyvinyl Record Co. in the North America and Lucky Number Music everywhere else. You can get a copy of the song here. For more on Momma, check out the band's Twitter and Facebook. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
Once you watch the video for Charlotte Cornfield's latest single, her musical sound makes perfect sense. When we heard "Headlines" last month, I described her sounding "... both familiar and unique," and "... a slightly tweaked version of pop rock." For "Partner in Crime," Cornfield has released a video inspired by Wes Anderson's debut film Bottle Rocket. The films of Wes Anderson explains the sound of Charlotte Cornfield perfectly. There is a vintage vibe to it, but it's a completely modern piece of highly stylized art that is entirely unique to the artist. Wes Anderson's films are unmistakably his, and the same can be said about Charlotte Cornfield's music.
Charlotte Cornfield says of her new single/video:
“My brother and I grew up watching Wes Anderson movies. They were a huge part of our childhood and adolescence, and I feel like they've seeped into our DNA at this point — the colours, the outfits, the humour. When I sent Joe this song and he came back with this idea, it was a no-brainer that we'd do it. He made it all happen: the van, the jumpsuits, the whole thing. Tara Kannangara, Steven Foster and Sam Gleason came with us on the journey and fully embraced the concept.”
You can watch the video for "Partner in Crime" below. Highs in the Minuses is due out October 29 on Polyvinyl/Double Double Whammy. For more on Charlotte Cornfield, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Cornfield has a sound that is both familiar and unique. Her latest single, "Headlines," has a mainstream alt-singer/songwriter feel to it, but it could hardly be considered even remotely adult contemporary. The song has this thin layer of fuzz on the guitars, like a gorgeous little fungus. Plus, Cornfield's vocals are unique. While her singing is pleasant, it's not a traditional style that would land her on American Idol, but Bob Dylan wouldn't make it there either. This is a pop rock song for those of us that want a slightly tweaked version of pop rock.
Charlotte Cornfield explains the meaning behind her new song:
“I wanted to express the joy of seeing people, of those little interactions that happen throughout the day that I missed so much in the last year and a half. When I wrote this song I was spending so much time walking alone through my neighbourhood, and I wanted the video to take place on the same streetscape but be the antidote to that solitude. To me the city is so much about the people in it. Adrienne McLaren Devenyi, the director, came up with this arc of me exchanging objects with people as I move through the neighbourhood and that just created a beautiful jumping off point for these interactions. We had so much fun making this video, and it was such a gift to see everybody.”
You can watch the video for "Headlines" below. High in the Minuses is due out October 29 on Polyvinyl/Double Double Whammy. You can pre-order/pre-save the album here. For more on Charlotte Cornfield, check out the artist's website.
The latest song from Squirrel Flower starts off with a killer, menacing grunge era guitar riff. It's going to make you expect a Mudhoney or Soundgarden song. Instead, the song morphs into a gorgeous, chilled out Squirrel Flower song. That riff does linger underneath the song never quite letting it settle into folk or dream pop. "Flames and Flat Tires" keeps its very own sound that way. It's an intense and beautiful song, despite the underlying menace.
Ella Williams (aka Squirrel Flower) explains the new song:
“I wrote ‘Flames and Flat Tires’ on my second day of quarantine in Bristol, England ahead of recording. It was late August, hot, I was staying in a place that opened onto a party street, and every night I stayed up listening to the sounds of the revelers and the birds squawking and screaming until 6am, then all day watched people hanging laundry in their backyards through my kitchen window. This was one of those tunes that just falls out."
You can watch the video for "Flames and Flat Tires" below. Planet (i) is due out June 25 on Polyvinyl. You can pre-order/pre-save the album here. For more on Squirrel Flower, check out the artist's website. Current tour dates are below the video!
Fri. June 25 - Rough Trade Instagram Livestream Sat. June 26 - Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village (early and late) - RECORD RELEASE SHOW Wed. Sept. 15 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse $ Thu. Sept. 16 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle $ Fri. Sept. 17 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar $ Sat. Sept. 18 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer $ Sun. Sept. 19 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club $ Tue. Sept. 21 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel $ Wed. Sept. 22 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club $ Thu. Sept. 23 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club $ Sat. Sept. 25 - Montreal, QC @ Fairmount Theatre $ Sun. Sept. 26 - Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre $ Tue. Sept. 28 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop $ Wed. Sept. 29 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall $ Fri. Oct. 1 - Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom $
The latest from Squirrel Flower defines everything we love about the musical moniker of Ella Williams. "I'll Go Running" may be a bit more straightforward of a folk adjacent indie rock track than we normally get from Squirrel Flower, but it's not lacking in the intensity. It's another slow builder, starting a bit more quiet and then ever so slowly building in volume and power. It's like Williams has taken the classic loud/quiet/loud indie rock template and just slowed it down. The way that "I'll Go Running" builds makes the song feel even more intense and vital.
In a press release, Ella Williams talks about the new song:
"’I’ll Go Running’ is about the darker side of being an artist - the pressure to make things brand new, shocking, to give everything away and open yourself completely without always getting intentional listening and consumption in return. To be vulnerable to a knife. To be fresh, new, to give it all away. But it's powerful to offer yourself and your art without fear, which is what I try to do with this album. That's why this is the opening track."
You can watch the video for "I'll Go Running" below. Planet (i) is due out June 25 on Polyvinyl. You can pre-order/pre-save a copy here. For more on Squirrel Flower, check out the artist's website. Tour dates supporting Soccer Mommy and below the video.
Wed. Sept. 15 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse Thu. Sept. 16 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle Fri. Sept. 17 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar Sat. Sept. 18 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer Sun. Sept. 19 - DC @ 9:30 Club Tue. Sept. 21 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel Wed. Sept. 22 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club Thu. Sept. 23 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club Sat. Sept. 25 - Montreal, QC @ Fairmount Theatre Sun. Sept. 26 - Toronto, ONT @ Phoenix Concert Theatre Tue. Sept. 28 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop Wed. Sept. 29 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall Fri. Oct. 1 - Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom
We've been huge fans of Squirrel Flower (aka Ella Williams) since she started releasing songs off her 2020 album I Was Born Swimming. That was my number six album of 2020, and even though it's been out for a little over a year, she's been steadily releasing singles and covers since then. Somehow Williams has found time to make another album during everything else. "Hurt a Fly" is the first single off that album, and it's surprisingly upbeat sounding despite being recorded during 2020. As with songs off her previous album, "Hurt a Fly" skirts the genres of alt-pop and indie rock. If anything, the new song is a little more rock than most of her previous releases. It falls in line with a lot of mid 90's indie rockers like Liz Phair and Juliana Hatfield, but with a little more of a 2021 indie pop sheen applied.
Ella Williams says of the new song:
“‘Hurt A Fly’ is me embodying a persona of gaslighting, narcissistic soft-boy type shit. The classic ‘sorry I acted violently, I'm not mad that you got upset at me, wanna hang out next week?’. I wanted to see what it was like to be a character trying to skirt around accountability. It's an angry and unhinged song, and for the video I wanted to be inside a bubble writhing around and trying to get out. A stranger filmed me practicing choreography at a public park, submitted it to a meme page making fun of ‘influencers,’ and the video got 1,000,000 views, which in my mind is perfect thematically.”
You can watch the video for "Hurt a Fly" below. Planet (i) is due out June 25 on Polyvinyl. You can pre-order a copy here. For more on Squirrel Flower, check out the artist's website.
Somehow we missed the debut single of Bachelor, the collaborative project of Melina Duterte of Jay Som and Ellen Kempner of Palehound, but luckily we're on top of the second single. I don't know why, but I didn't expect "Stay in the Car" to rock quite as hard as it does. Sure, there's quite a bit of the modern indie rock blended with pop sound we'd expect from this duo, but "Stay in the Car" is quite obviously very Pixies inspired. From the loud/quiet/loud song structure perfected by the Pixies to the fact that the guitar just sounds like some killer Joey Santiago riff. On this song, Bachelor sounds like the Pixies leaned into the mainstream a bit more but kept their edge and sound fully intact.
Ellen Kempner explains the story behind the song:
“I wrote the lyrics to ‘Stay In the Car’ back in December of 2019 when I was in Florida for my partner’s top surgery. I had run out one afternoon, post op, while he was healing to grab lunch for us and as I was gathering my stuff in the parking lot, a big car pulled up and this absolutely beautiful woman got out. She was dressed all in red, dripping with jewelry and had the most wild fiery mane I’d ever seen. She was yelling at the man behind the wheel asking him what he wanted from the store and I wished I was that man. I wanted to be a part of her life, her best friend, her driver, whatever she wanted me to be. I was completely mesmerized.”
You can watch the video for "Stay in the Car" below. Doomin' Sun is due out May 28 on Polyvinyl. You can pre-order a copy of the album here. For more on Bachelor, check out the band's website.
If you're as excited about this as I am, you've already pressed play on the widget below and are reading this while you listen. We've been fairly up front about our (very well deserved) gushing love for Squirrel Flower's album I Was Born Swimming, which was released earlier this year. We also obviously love Liz Phair's 1993 classic Exile In Guyville. Seeing as we love Squirrel Flower, Liz Phair, and covers, what more can we want than Squirrel Flower covering "Explain It to Me?" It's even a fantastic choice of a cover, as "Explain It to Me" is a wildly underappreciated song from a classic album. The original is a brilliantly minimal classic, made up of mostly just Phair and her guitar. Squirrel Flower somehow make the song even more minimal, with even less guitar but with Ella Williams looping vocals to self harmonize.
You can listen to Squirrel Flower's take on "Explain It to Me" below. The song is available as a single with an original song ("Chicago") as a B-side via Polyvinyl. You can get a copy on Bandcamp. For more on Squirrel Flower, check out the artist's website.
It may be the b-side of a new single, but considering how obsessed we are with covers, we kinda need to cover this one. Squirrel Flower has recently released a single titled "Take It or Leave It," and for the b-side she has included a cover of Caroline Polachek's "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings." Despite this being a cover, this sounds like it could have been included on Squirrel Flower's 2020 album of the year candidate I Was Born Swimming. For a cover, this one fits the artist perfectly. Ella O'Connor Williams (aka Squirrel Flower) explains the story behind the cover: “For the last show of my truncated tour in March, my band and I decided to play a cover of ‘So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings’ after rehearsing it once during sound check (we are all huge Caroline Polachek fans),” says Williams. “It was the last song I played live before quarantine. I got home from tour and immediately recorded it in my basement.” You can listen to Squirrel Flower's cover of "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings" below. You can also check out "Take It or Leave It" here. For more on Squirrel Flowers, check out the artist's website.
A throwback to label samplers from the 90's, earlier this week Polyvinyl released Stay Home, a collection of unreleased music, demos, and covers from their artists. Particularly exciting to us is Squirrel Flower's cover of Emmylou Harris's song "Icy Blue Heart." I Was Born Swimming is my album of 2020 (so far), so any time we can get a new song so close to the release of my favorite album of the year, I'm going to be beyond excited. And for it to be a cover? Even better. "Icy Blue Heart" might be the best choice for Squirrel Flower to cover. Squirrel Flower specializes in a haunting version of Americana which has been Harris's specialty for decades. This is a dead on cover that adds just enough of the new artist to not be a carbon copy. It's virtually perfect. You can listen to Squirrel Flower's version of "Icy Blue Heart" below. The song is available now on Stay Home from Polyvinyl Records, and also features unreleased music from Anna Burch, The Get Up Kids, of Montreal, Palehound, Pedro the Lion, and more. It's available for $5.00 on Polyvinyl's Bandcamp. For more on Squirrel Flower, check out the artist's website.
We've been impatiently waiting for Ella O'Connor Williams's (aka Squirrel Flower) debut album since the first single back in October. Now that we're two weeks away from its release we have a third single, "Streetlight Blues." Squirrel Flower's music is typically described as ethereal, and yes, "Streetlight Blues" does qualify as ethereal. But it also has these killer crunchy alt-rock guitars that don't typically get considered ethereal. Her voice mixed with this harder edged guitar creates this unexpected dichotomy that truly makes this song special. Squirrel Flower explains the song: ""I wrote this song because I was overcome by the image of insects flying towards streetlights and bug lamps in the late summer, attracted to the light but also flying to their death. This song is angsty. It's partly about blowing off your friends to dance alone in waves of emotion, partly about the end of something- life, seasons, a relationship, a streetlamp.” You can listen to "Streetlight Blues" below. I Was Born Swimming, the debut album from Squirrel Flower, will be out January 31 on Polyvinyl. You can pre-order the album here. For more on Squirrel Flower, check out her website. Current tour dates are below the song.
Tue. Jan. 28 - London, UK @ The Islington Thu. Jan. 30 - Dunkerque, FR @ Les 4 Ecluses Fri. Jan. 31 - Brighton, UK @ Resident Records (in-store) Sat. Feb. 1 - Bristol, UK @ Friendly Records (in-store) Sun. Feb. 2 - Leeds, UK @ Jumbo Records (in-store) Tue. Feb. 4 - Diksmuide, BE @ 4AD * [Sold Out] Wed. Feb. 5 - Nijmegen, BL @ Doornroosje * Thu. Feb. 6 - Brussels, BE @ AB * Sat. Feb. 8 - Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet * [Sold Out] Mon. Feb. 10 - Berlin, DE @ Curfew Bar Thu. March 5 - Freeport, ME @ Cadenza & Fri. March 6 - Middletown, CT @ Mac 650 Art Gallery & Sat. March 7 - Boston, MA @ Great Scott & Tue. March 10 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Lounge at World Cafe Live Wed. March 11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade & Sat. March 13 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd & Mon. March 23 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge % Wed. March 25 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo % Thu. March 26 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill % Sat. March 28 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza % Sun. March 29 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge % Tue. March 31 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court % Thu. April 2 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge % Sat. April 4 - Iowa City, IA @ Mission Creek Festival Mon. April 6 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry % Tue. April 7 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas % Wed. April 8 - Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s % Fri. April 10 - Toronto, ON @ Drake Hotel & Sat. April 11 - Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo & % = w/ Why Bonnie & = w/ Cedric Noel * =w/ Strand of Oaks
We loved Anna Burch's 2018 album Quit the Curse and it's somehow kinda feels like the 90's singer/songwriter sound. She's now back with a new song, "Not So Bad." If you liked Quit the Curse, you're going to like this one. It has that folk-adjacent 90's feel to it that you can't quite put your finger on. It still reminds me of Liz Phair again, but Burch is definitely moving into her own direction. Plus, the speak singing sounds like an almost folk Pavement, which I'm always going to be on board for. You can watch the video for "Not So Bad" below (it also might be one of my favorite videos this century). If You're Dreaming, the upcoming album from Anna Burch, will be out April 3 on Polyvinyl. You can pre-order a copy here. For more on Anna Burch, check out her website.
Next month's debut album from Squirrel Flower (aka Ella O'Connor Williams) is quickly becoming one of our most anticipated of 2020. The latest single from the album, "Headlights," is a quiet, gorgeous, ethereal song. It's as lush as it is minimal, creating a captivating sound that just draws you in and demands your attention. Squirrel Flower says of "Headlights": "’Headlights’ takes place in a moment of solitary reflection; a glance back and a glance forward. I wrote it on tour driving through the pioneer valley in Massachusetts in some heavy fog. Suddenly I was aware of the space the car was plummeting through, both physical and temporal." You can watch the video for "Headlights" below. I Was Born Swimming, the debut album from Squirrel Flower, will be out January 31 on Polyvinyl. You can pre-order a copy here. For more on Squirrel Flower, check out her website. Current tour dates are below the video.
Tue. Jan. 28 - London, UK @ The Islington Fri. Jan. 31 - Brighton, UK @ Resident Records Sat. Feb. 1 - Bristol, UK @ Friendly Records Sun. Feb. 2 - Leeds, UK @ Jumbo Records Tue. Feb. 4 - Diksmuide, BE @ 4AD * [Sold Out] Wed. Feb. 5 - Nijmegen, BL @ Doornroosje * Thu. Feb. 6 - Brussels, BE @ AB * Sat. Feb. 8 - Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet * [Sold Out] Thu. March 5 - Freeport, ME @ Cadenza Fri. March 6 - Middletown, CT @ Mac 650 Art Gallery & Sat. March 7 - Boston, MA @ Great Scott & Wed. March 11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade & Thu. March 12 - Philadelphia, PA @ Everybody Hits & Sat. March 13 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd & Mon. March 23 - Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge % Wed. March 25 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo % Thu. March 26 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill % Sat. March 28 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza % Sun. March 29 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge % Tue. March 31 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court % Thu. April 2 - Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge % Mon. April 6 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry % Tue. April 7 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas % Wed. April 8 - Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s % Fri. April 10 - Toronto, ON @ Drake Hotel & Sat. April 11 - Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo & % = w/ Why Bonnie & = w/ Cedric Noel * =w/ Strand of Oaks
Squirrel Flower has been Ella O'Connor Williams's moniker since childhood. She was a member of the Boston Children's Chorus, and spent time in the Boston DIY folk scene. Her new song, "Red Shoulder," starts out as an ethereal folk song. It's beautiful, and haunting... and then it changes. These loud punk/country guitars kick in seemingly out of nowhere, even though they were hinted at all along. “‘Red Shoulder’ is a song about destabilization and dissociation,” explains Williams. “Something soft and tender becomes warped and sinister, turning into sensory overload and confusion. How can something so lovely turn painful and claustrophobic? The song ends with a heavy and visceral guitar solo, attempting to reground what went awry." You can watch the video for "Red Shoulder" below. I Was Born Swimming, the debut album from Squirrel Flower, will be out January 31 on Polyvinyl. You can pre-order the album here. For more on Squirrel Flower, check out her website.
The new album from Julia Jacklin will be out this Friday, but she's released one last single while we desperately wait. So far all three singles have been quite different. "Head Alone" felt like it could have been a lost track from her previous album, Don't Let the Kids Win, but with more confidence. "Pressure to Party" was more of a rock song. The third, "Comfort," is an almost painfully quiet folk song. It's only Jacklin's voice in its most delicate possible version with a just barely strummed guitar. (There's also a tiny bit of backing vocals, but just barely and used rarely). With all three of the previewed songs being so completely different from each other (but obviously from the same universe), we can't wait until Friday. You can watch the video for "Comfort" below. Crushing, the new album from Julia Jacklin, will be out February 22 on Polyvinyl. You can pre-order a copy here. For more on Julia Jacklin, check out her website.
Julia Jacklin's latest single, "Pressure to Party," is her most fun solo song yet. Most of her solo work tends to be on the singer/songwriter folk adjacent side of things, of which she has reached complete perfection, and we're huge fans. "Pressure to Party" is a bouncy, fun, 90's style alternative pop-rock song. There's is still enough of her Americana feel to keep things from going all out Letters to Cleo or Veruca Salt, and keeps the track from sounding like a alt-rock throwback. It's a slight style change more on the lines of her music with Phantastic Ferniture than her usual solo material, but you'll hear no complaints here.
You can watch the absurdly fun video for "Pressure to Party" below. It's a one shot video that stars Jacklin's siblings and the band Body Type, and really is a must watch. Julia Jacklin's new album, Crushing, will be out February 22 on Polyvinyl. For more on Julia Jacklin, be sure to check out her website.
We were huge fans of Julia Jacklin's 2016 debut album Don't Let the Kids Win. It narrowly missed being in my top 10 of that year, and if I could redo my top 10 it would probably make it. Despite releasing a new album with her band Phantastic Ferniture earlier this year, she's already back again with new solo music. "Head Alone" is mesmerizing. It's everything we loved about the Americana meets indie rock sound of Don't Let the Kids Win, but with a newfound sense of confidence. You can just hear it in her voice. While the songs off the previous album had a sense of fragility, Jacklin sounds empowered in "Head Alone." You can watch the video for "Head Alone" below. Julia Jacklin's new album, Crushing, will be out February 22 on Polyvinyl. You can pre-order the album here. For more on Julia Jacklin, check out her website. She'll be touring the US with Black Belt Eagle Scout next year, so you'll definitely want to check that out.
We were pretty huge on Julia Jacklin's 2016 debut Don't Let the Kids Win. While she doesn't have a new solo album on the horizon, she's involved in another band that does! Phantastic Ferniture started back in 2014 when Jacklin and ten friends pledged to start a band together on her birthday. The next day four of them remembered, so a band was formed. The band played what was supposed to be their first and last gig four months later, but ended up getting together when they could to play together. Thus, Phastastic Ferniture was born. Jacklin describes the new band this way: “I’d gone straight into folk music, so every experience I’d had on stage was playing sad music with a guitar in my hand. I thought, I would love to know what it’s like to make people feel good and dance.” Their new song, "Gap Year," definitely fits that description. It's far more upbeat and rocking than anything from Don't Let the Kids Win, and is just fun rock music that happens to be pretty great. Especially right after the two minute mark when the guitars truly kick in. Somehow Jacklin's voice is perfectly suited for her solo folk music and this new fun rock style. I can't wait to hear more. You can watch the video for "Gap Year" below. Fantastic Pherniture's self-titled debut album will be out July 27 on Polyvinyl. You can pre-order a copy here. For more on Fantastic Ferniture, check out their website.
We just keep getting more and more excited for the upcoming debut album from Detroit's Anna Burch. Her latest single from it, "Tea-Soaked Letter," is a bit more pop leaning than "Asking 4 a Friend," but in the best possible way. It's pop in the way mid-90's alternative bands were pop. The guitar is a sun soaked haze of just enough fuzz, but the real star of the track is Burch's vocals. She doesn't have a traditionally beautiful voice, instead it's interesting along the lines of Liz Phair and Juliana Hatfield. "Tea-Soaked Letter" is a perfect nugget of alternative pop perfection. You can watch the video for "Tea-Soaked Letter" below. Anna Burch's debut album, Quit the Curse, will be out March 2 on Polyvinyl. You can pr-order a copy here. For more on Anna Burch, follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
