Late last year, Grinnell student Ellä Williams, who records under the moniker Squirrel Flower, released her sophmore EP, Contact Sports. Joined by Lyle Brewer (guitar) and Marco Giovino (drums), the EP saw a departure from her previous folk sound in favour of something a little heavier, leading to an atmospheric and at times tumultuous record that seemed entwined with the natural world—at once delicate and dramatic and prone to shows of great force.
Fast forward six months and Squirrel Flower has released a brand new video for the track ‘Daylight Savings’ ahead of a US tour with Lina Tullgren. As the title suggests, the song draws upon the seasons to map change, taking the noticeable, physical differences in the environment as a cue to consider less tangible alterations. The video maximises this focus, juxtaposing wide-open rural spaces with dusky, indoor details to produce something abstract yet loaded with meaning, an otherworldly examination of our perception of time. As the blurb puts it:
“As Squirrel Flower remains immobilized and exposed, an alternate narrative plays out of the two dancers. Transitioning from day into night while capturing the landscape of Grinnell, Iowa, where Ella lives, represents the sudden time change when daylight savings occurs. This highlights that both love and daylight savings are surreal, inevitable, and out of your control.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcBnNXMsdMk&feature=youtu.be
To give everyone involved their proper due, the video was directed and filmed by Melissa Fandos and Nadiri Saunders, choreographed by Charlotte Richardson-Deppe, styled by Nora Coghlan, and stars Serena Hochaeron and Emma Tilden as dancers alongside Williams.
Contact Sports is out now on It Takes Time Records and you get it from Bandcamp. Squirrel Flower’s tour with Lina Tullgren is underway right now, and you can see the remaining dates below:
6/12: Portland, ME – Zero Station
6/13: Montreal, QC – Brasserie Beaubien
6/14: New Paltz, NY – Commissary Cafe
6/15: Brooklyn, NY – Alphaville
6/16: Richmond, VA – Lucy Lane
6/17: Asheville, NC – Revolve
6/18: Nashville, TN – Wilburn St Tavern
6/19: Chicago, IL – House of Heavy Petting
6/20: Des Moines, IA – Kitty City
6/21: Bloomington, IN – Blockhouse
6/22: Athens, OH – The New Happiness
