Why Squirrel Flower’s “Cleveland” Is the Ultimate Indie Anthem About Choosing a City Over a Boy

If you’ve been tracking Ella Williams’ trajectory over the last few years, you already know she rarely stays in one place musically for long. Operating under the name Squirrel Flower, the Chicago-based songwriter has steadily grown from the raw, intimate bedroom recordings of early EPs like Early Winter Songs From Middle America into an expansive, guitar-driven force.

Ahead of her fourth studio album, Say a Prayer to the Gods of Getting Going (out now via Polyvinyl), Williams dropped “Cleveland”—a sweeping, guitar-heavy track that might just be one of the coolest things she’s ever put out.

The Story Behind “Cleveland”

Most indie breakup or romance songs follow a predictable script, but Williams flips the narrative completely. “Cleveland” is a love song, sure—just not to a person. Instead, it’s dedicated entirely to the city on Lake Erie.

As Williams puts it, the track is “about choosing the city over the crush, about domesticity, about the strange magnetism of the city on Lake Erie, and about the promise of the rust belt as a future site for climate migration.”

It’s also a bit of a family affair. Unlike her usual strictly solo writing process, “Cleveland” was co-written with her sibling, pulling inspiration from an unreleased track by their old family band, uncommon rat. Musically, it hits hard, featuring massive guitar textures that lean into a wonderfully gritty, shoegaze-adjacent wall of sound when the chorus kicks in.

Growing Up With I Was Born Swimming and Beyond

It’s been a trip watching Williams’ evolution. When her debut full-length I Was Born Swimming dropped on Polyvinyl in 2020, it felt like an immersive dive into natural elements, water, and open air.

With Say a Prayer to the Gods of Getting Going, she’s taking those themes further, turning years of relentless touring into songs that wrestle with movement, restlessness, and figuring out where you actually belong. “Cleveland” anchors that journey with humor, sharp hooks, and a heavy dose of rock-and-roll independence.

A Nostalgic, Film-Shot Visual

The accompanying music video—directed and shot on film by Jackson James—matches the song’s restless energy. Conceived by Williams’ mother, the visual features Williams hitchhiking alongside a dreamy, tongue-in-cheek nod to retro American domestic fantasies (channeling a vibe inspired by Desperately Seeking Susan). It’s sun-drenched, slightly gritty, and completely charming.