Austere vocals and tender lyrics make the work of this US singer-songwriter compelling
Squirrel Flower is the odd name 23-year-old Bostonian Ella O’Connor Williams gave herself as a child. Maybe young Ella knew that its uneasy juxtaposition would be replicated in later years, for her precise, choir-schooled voice is a far from obvious fit for her music. With its scuzzy guitar and gentle percussion, it’s the dreamy, discombobulating sound of Lana Del Rey cosplaying Pavement.
Williams started performing as Squirrel Flower while at university in Iowa, where she studied gender and sexuality, but she has been playing guitar and writing
music since her early teens, influenced by the likes of Laura Marling and Bon Iver. She released a promising EP, Contact Sports, in 2016.