Tomorrow's Fire

After the spacious meditation of "I Dont Use a Trash Can," Ella Williams kicks her ennui into full gear on "Full Time Hobby," its slow, chugging groove underpinning the "cant win" hopelessness of the lyrics. These two songs introduce Tomorrows Fire, Williams third label release under the name Squirrel Flower. Produced by Alex Farrar and featuring members of Bon Iver, Wednesday, and the War on Drugs, the albums feeling of overcast turbulence dovetails neatly with the sweet, yawning melodies that are one of Williams trademarks. Boston-bred, but with an appreciation for the Midwest, her early releases recalled the winter plains of Iowa where she went to college. Tomorrows Fire also turns to the Midwest for inspiration, namely the Indiana Dunes, a majestic stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline east of Chicago, abutted on either side by the steel mills of Gary and the Nipsco Power Plant of Michigan City. Fans of Squirrel Flowers woeful-yet-winsome songwriting wont be surprised by her rustbelt fascination. Her music is full of such juxtapositions. Like her two prior albums, Tomorrows Fire is at once radiant and grungy, introspective and cathartic, hot and cold. Standout "Alley Light" is a daydreaming paean to escape while "Stick" refuses change at great cost. Simmering desire makes itself known in the hushed "Almost Pulled Away" and the mighty "Canyon," a common theme strung between two sonic poles. All of it is cloaked in a fug of fuzzed-out guitars and echo, yet no amount of rugged texture can dim the purity of Williams dulcet voice. Tomorrows Fire may be the most melancholic of Squirrel Flowers albums, but its sense of drama is captivating. ~ Timothy Monger