Squirrel Flower "Planet EP (Polyvinyl)"
Distilled to perfection in Boston’s DIY scene, Squirrel Flower’s Planet EP is a rustic cognac for the soul, fruit-notes and floral scents with a warm, full feeling. Or maybe not – I’m not fancy enough for Cognac. Regardless, Ella William’s latest proves her to be one of the new innovators of that slow-paced-bummer-ish-lo-fi- indie-folk sound pioneered by artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Angel Olsen. Planet EP’s low, layered, synths float beneath her feathery, melancholic voice and just above the simplistic drum lines. Sparse guitars, harmonic vocals, and the audio equivalent of sunbeams refracted through the cloudy darkness of bedrooms at dusk. Find hope in the final crescendos of songs like “live wire”, and “ruby at dawn” (all uncapitalized at the artist’s request, lending credence to the lo-fi-ness of it all) or dive into the experimental side of the pool and check out the cover of “unravel” by Bjork – which provides a rough, reverberating change of pace to the otherwise silken release (silken like Yoo-Hoo, which I am exactly fancy enough for).