“This little man is somebody we picked up on the highway,” Squirrel Flower, aka songwriter Ella Williams, says between songs, referencing a tiny toy alligator resting on her mic stand. The Chicago-based indie rocker stopped by the Tiny Desk on the heels of touring her newest album, Tomorrow’s Fireplace. Right here, she performs stripped again variations of her thundering rock songs with out her band, giving method for her low register, affecting lyricism and guitar abilities to shine.
There’s an depth distinctive to every tune Williams performs in her Tiny Desk set. “I instructed you, I’ve by no means been in love,” she begins on the aching “Nearly Pulled Away.” On “Alley Gentle,” she sings about not having the ability to take issues gradual, musing “possibly that is why she loves me.” The set appears to achieve its apex on “Lastly Rain,” when Williams’ vocals ring the loudest. However then for the nearer, “Iowa 146,” Williams thaws as she performs with a quiet sort of focus that is simply as highly effective. She rigorously plucks her strings and asks gently: “If I play you guitar, will every little thing fall away?”
SET LIST
- “Nearly Pulled Away”
- “Alley Gentle”
- “Lastly Rain”
- “Iowa 146”
MUSICIANS
- Squirrel Flower: vocals, guitar
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Elle Mannion
- Director/Editor: Kara Body
- Audio Technical Director: Josephine Nyounai
- Collection Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Kara Body, Maia Stern
- Audio Engineer: Neil Tevault
- Manufacturing Assistant: Ashley Pointer
- Photographer: Michael Zamora
- Tiny Desk Staff: Joshua Bryant, Hazel Cills
- Govt Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Collection Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
- VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
