Squirrel Flower, aka Chicago singer/songwriter Ella Williams, has just released her new album Tomorrow’s Fire on Polyvinyl. It was made with engineer Alex Farrar (who’s worked with Wednesday, Angel Olsen, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and more), and it features contributions from Wednesday’s MJ Lenderman, The War On Drugs’ Dave Hartley, Angel Olsen band member Seth Kauffman, and Matt McCaughan (Bon Iver, The Rosebuds, Portastatic). It combines the intimacy of Squirrel Flower’s earlier, folkier releases with louder rock vibes–it makes sense to learn that Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska and Guided by Voices’ Alien Lanes were both influences, as Ella elaborated on while telling us about five albums that inspired this LP. Stream the album and read on for what she had to say.
Squirrel Flower will also soon be on tour, including a show at NYC’s October 26 at Bowery Ballroom with the very good triple bill of Truth Club and Knifeplay. All dates are listed below.
Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska
I was first introduced to this record by a lover in college. at the time, I was making very sparse, minimalist and spacious folk music that was really inspired by the landscape of rural Iowa, where I’d moved from the east coast. I heard this record and felt like it was exactly what I was trying to do. Tomorrow’s Fire takes a lot of inspiration from Springsteen and this record– the truth of the songs, the spaciousness of the music, the solitude of it, the simplicity. Often, to me, the most powerful music is the most sparse. This record will influence the way I make music forever.
Nick Cave – Skeleton Tree
What strikes me about this record is how deeply and unashamedly it dives into the melancholic. Also the repetition. Repetition is a tool I use a lot in my songwriting and I love music that uses a lot of repetition. Repetition allows a song to not just be a straight arrow moving forward. It can exist as a cloud, all of it existing all at once, no beginning, middle, or end. A lot of songs on this record are clouds. I listened to it a lot while beginning to write Tomorrow’s Fire.
Sea Oleena – Weaving A Basket
Sometimes you don’t even know how you found an album, just that you found it, and it changed you, and it will be inside you forever. Weaving A Basket is that for me. Even though most of Tomorrow’s Fire is very sonically different from this record, the space, patience, and pure beauty of these songs affected my songs and the way I approached the creation and production of them.
Guided By Voices – Alien Lanes
I’ve loved this album since I first discovered GBV when I was 15, went on Pirate Bay and downloaded their entire discography (an ungodly amount of songs). I listened to this album the most. The sounds and structures of these songs have weaved their way into a lot of Tomorrow’s Fire, especially “Intheskatepark.”
Songs: Ohia – Didn’t It Rain
Jason Molina’s music perfectly captures how it feels to drive from Cleveland to Chicago. I’ve done that drive probably 50 times. Maybe more. This record captures the way that pockets of industrial hell exist next to the spaciousness + natural beauty of the midwest.
The first two Squirrel Flower EPs
(yes i am unabashedly inspired by myself). A lot of the process of making this record was me reconnecting with my past musical selves. the Ella who made music just to make music, never thought anyone would listen, just wanted to express and explore. Early Winter songs from Middle America and Contact Sports served as guiding lights for me in making this record.
Squirrel Flower — 2023/2024 Tour Dates
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