Squid swam through A&R Music Bar on Wednesday, May 14th to promote their third album, Cowards, released February 4th of this year. Cowards‘ has more than lived up to the buzz generated by Bright Green Field (2021) and O Monolith (2023). While Cowards still carries the same slightly ominous atmosphere as Squid’s first two EPs, it also features a cautious curiosity beyond the traditionally prevalent disoriented anxiety.
Founded in Brighton, UK and currently based in Bristol, Squid’s members are Ollie Judge (vocals, drums), Louis Borland (guitar, backup vocals), Anton Pearson (guitar, vocals), Laurie Nankivell (bass, brass), and Arthur Leadbetter (keyboard). Rather than being bold, rowdy punks, Squid acts more like a thinking-man’s punk.
Squid’s music sounds more pre-composed than derived from jam sessions, and they have a demeanor of an ensemble outside of concert black. So, while Squid put on a great show in A&R Music Bar’s rock setting, I can see them playing venues more like Columbus’ the Bluestone, Athenaeum, Mershon Auditorium, or Southern or Palace Theaters in the future, where some of their delicate effects could be better amplified.
The opening act for this tour was rapper FearDorian, who mixed Atlanta-style flow and beats with soft indie samples from artists such as Current Joys, Cryogeyser, and MIA. Throughout both his set and Squid’s, a drop cloth with the words “An anxiety dream,” printed in huge, staggered, text served as a visual reinforcement of Cowards disquieted tone. Squid’s setlist was composed of just twelve songs, which ranged from energetic post-punk to pin-droppingly quiet.
Squid kicked off their show with Cowards lead single, “Crispy Skin.” They did an excellent job of honoring the recording with their live tone throughout this song, and the duration of the performance. I was glad to hear so much of the weird and sporadic guitar and synthesizer present in the the live show, and I was especially impressed to hear Judge’s emotional, idiosyncratic live vocals while he simultaneously playing the drums.
While Squid’s unusually structured songs, each running at over six-and-a-quarter minutes, leave little room for error, it was clear that they had prepared extensively. Their reliability in musicianship in combination with their unpredictability as songwriters make Squid an exciting act to see live. To put it in Squid terms, in less skilled hands, diving into the Abyssopelagic zone of European experimental rock, art punk, and near avant-garde could quickly turn into a free-form jazz odyssey.
Squid’s sonic profile suggests to me that they were originally lured into the Mesopelagic twilight by more mainstream experimentalists such as Stereolab and Radiohead, but once they were there, swam deeper through the Bathypelagic towards the likes of cited inspirations, Neu! and This Heat. Beginning in 2016, Squid have been siphoning their way to the top of the experimental music scene, landing the group a deal in 2020 with independent British label Warp Records, which is home to the likes of Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, and Yves Tumor.
Their audience for the night was nerdy and civil but very cool. A conspicuous number came wearing King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard or Black Country New Road merchandise, and those I spoke with seemed to have a much broader music and music industry knowledge than what is common of most other fandoms. Pretty much every single person in the audience studied Squid’s gear, and many commented on how well-practiced they were. It was a chin-stroking-type show, as few songs were particularly danceable due to uneven time signatures. Nevertheless, Squid’s tendency towards the off-center kept the audience transfixed, and made this show, dare I say, ink-credible.
SETLIST
- CRISPY SKIN
- BUILDING 650
- CLEANER
- GSK
- SWING
- COWARDS
- 2010
- UNDERGROWTH
- BLADES
- WELL MET
ENCORE:
- THE HEARTH
- PAMPHLETS
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