New Music: The Hearth And Circle Round

            

The British experimental post-punk five-piece Squid released their new album, Cowards, in February via Warp. Now they have released a brand new single, "The Hearth and Circle Round Fire." About the track: vocalist and drummer Ollie Judge had this to say about the song in a press release: "The Hearth and Circle Round Fire" is a punky tune that came together quite easily but we felt dissatisfied with that ease and decided to record it as a 15 minute jam, rip it apart and tape it back together. Lyrically, it was inspired by the dystopian worlds of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Kay Dick’s They, worlds which everyday people succumb to mass censorship and propaganda with only a small amount of people willing to fight against it.”

Albums: Cowards

Squid's third studio album "Cowards"  has met with critical acclaim by music critics.  it was recorded after the completion but before the release of the band's second album, O Monolith. It was inspired by traveling to different countries and reading books about the countries to create what lead singer and drummer Ollie Judge described as a "book of dark fairy tales." Some of these books included Agustina Bazterrica's Tender is the Flesh and Ryu Murakami's In the Miso Soup.

The lyrics touch on a variety of topics within the overall topic of "evil itself," with "Crispy Skin" being about cannibalism and "Blood on the Boulders" about the Manson murders. While Building 650 seemingly plays an homage to off-kilter Krautrock in an eerie all-string accompaniment marking an individuals' loneliness in visiting a country that is very different to their own. The folky double of Fieldworks is hauntingly beautiful while the self-titled seventh is a mourning trail of indie rock Showtime! deals up the psychedelic washboard while Blood on the Boulders is a foreboding lull into a dramatic conquest of noise rock that is a clear standout here.

For additional sounds, Squid called in on those most reliable. Danish experimental songsmith Clarissa Connelly weighed in, while Tony Njoku provided additional arrangements on piano. Rosa Brook threw her cents in from weird indie/punk group Pozi, percussion wizard and ethereal composer Zands Duggan also joins them but before too long we're met with the grandest of accompaniments. Ruisi Quartet perform their violin, viola and cello trio work throughout the record which no doubt projects it to greater levels.

Cowards has been described as both post-rock and art rock, with influences from a diverse set of other genres, including electronica, folk music, and psych rock. The album was seen as a continuation of the band's distancing from their earlier post-punk sound. 

The album has received "universal acclaim" due it might be Squid’s most actualized and in-depth venture yet."

Cowards Track List: 

 

1. Crispy Skin

2. Building 650

3. Blood On The Boulders

4. Fieldworks I

5. Fieldworks II

6. Cro-Magnon Man

7. Cowards

8. Showtime!

9. Well Met (Fingers Through The Fence)

New Music: Cro-Magnon Man

           

The British experimental post-punk five-piece Squid just released their new album, Cowards,last Friday via Warp. Now they have released its third single, "Cro-Magnon Man." The song features vocals from guitarist Louis Borlase alongside guest vocalists Clarissa Connelly, Tony Njoku, and Rosa Brook with an official visualiser.

New Music: Building 650

           

Squid shares their second single "Building 650" taken from their third studio album "Coward", another vibrant track that sounds a lot like a Sonic Youth song until the strings arrive, Ollie Judge commented: is a song inspired by our first ever trip to Japan. We played the Summersonic festival in 2022. Luckily, we were booked to play two days after the COVID travel ban had been lifted. Because of this, we felt like some of the only tourists in Tokyo. On the plane, I read In The Miso Soup by Ryu Murikami and watched Lost In Translation out of excitement and later decided to write lyrics about being an outsider visiting Japan, including a very particular type of loneliness one can feel visiting a country that is so different from their own. This loneliness feels exaggerated in Tokyo. On the surface, itʼs hectic and full of people, but when you listen itʼs eerily quiet. Longtime Squid collaborator Felix Green co-directed the "Building 65" video with Japanese filmmakers Daisuke Hasegawa and Kuya Tatsujo. 

New Music: Crispy Skin

           

The English art rock band Squid are back with "Crispy Skin" the first single from their third studio album "Coward" the song was lyrically inspired by a dystopian novel Tender Is The Flesh I read where cannibalism becomes the societal norm and humans are manufactured and sold in supermarkets,” lead vocalist/drummer Ollie Judge explains. The video was directed by award-winning experimental short film Zone (1995) Takashi Ito, who explains: "A film about a man without a face. His arms and legs bound with ropes, still without even a quiver in a white room. This man, enwrapped in wild delusions, is also a reconstruction of myself. A series of unusual scenes in this room that expresses what lies inside me. I tried to create a connection between memories, nightmares and violent images."

Primicia: America!

         

La banda Británica Squid, presenta su tema "America!" original del Bill Callahan lanzado en el 2011, el cual lanzan antes de su gira por los Estados Unidos, el track se extrae del disco "Bright Green Field", y segun cuenta la banda, el tema surge tras el bloqueo mental de la pandemia y decidieron hacer algo y entonces surgío la idea de hacer un cover de este tema que es uno de los preferidos de la banda, y quería hacerlo antes de irse de gira a los Estados Unidos, el arte del clip con un como toro llorando esta a cargo de John Molesworth.