Albums Of The Week: Squirrel Flower | Say A Prayer To The Gods Of Getting Going

THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: If a throughline exists in the decade of Squirrel Flower’s repertoire, it’s a projection of time and place. A Squirrel Flower song is, if anything, a snapshot of Chicago songwriter Ella Williams’ feelings in a given moment, extrapolated into a character, or a train of thought, or a (super)natural phenomenon. Of her fourth studio album on Polyvinyl Records (and sixth overall), *Say A Prayer To The Gods Of Getting Going*, Williams describes each song as a living archive of a moment or a place, given the space to live on its own outside of the progression of time. The transcendent title track begins where 2023’s *Tomorrow’s Fire* leaves off. Both spacious and thunderous, it’s a meditation on movement and stasis, future and past, delivered with a power that verges on mystical. This is where *Say A Prayer...* stands out as a singular and monumental classic. In crafting a collage of landscapes and characters (Williams wrote over 30 songs in the process), she skillfully weaves together a timeless love album. Just as the generational richness of Williams’ voice cuts through each track’s darkness or playfulness, so does an unmistakable depth of feeling. Love for friends, landscape, relentless touring, her own ideas and feelings, for life itself, and for an elusive lover she chases along her travels. Spanning 2024 and 2025, the writing process for *Say A Prayer...* is an account of the locations and characters Williams encountered as she traveled across vast American biomes: ‘Canyons of New Mexico / Factories of Indiana / Bunkers of California / Harbors of New England calling / She ends up in borderlands / She ends up in familiar places.’ Williams chronicles the changing landscapes of a solo traveler, untethered to anyone or anything other than the experience itself, bolstered by a vast network of friends and companions. Tracked live at Merry Meadow in Door County, WI with co-producers Seth Engel and Jack Henry, and refined in Asheville, NC at Alex Farrar’s Drop Of Sun studios, the LP’s production mirrors its songwriting process. Key contributors include Dave Hartley, Seth Kauffman, Dimitri Giannopoulos, Sofia Jensen, Clay Frankel, Andy Krull, and family members Jameson, Jesse, and Nate Williams. Farrar’s ethereal, grounded production amplified Williams’ folk music, described as a breakthrough. Exemplified by the sparkling acoustic arrangement of 12-string guitars, recorder, and accordion on the lead single *Reelin*, Williams envelops herself in a timeless sound inspired by Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt, and Joni Mitchell. Tracks like *Not Me* and *Cleveland*—co-written with sibling Nate—highlight her voice’s clarity and heartfelt storytelling. *Highway Woman*, the thematic heart of the album, blends autobiography and fiction, celebrating creative restlessness and independence. The recording captures Williams’ voice with newfound depth, blending acoustic guitars and guitarists like Krull’s crooning. In essence, *Say A Prayer To The Gods Of Getting Going* is a bittersweet testament to exploration, self-possession, and the open-ended future Williams hopes for, framed as a scrapbook of past experiences and ephemera.