Photo by Harrison Fishman

Honestly, I’ve no idea what really to make of Squid at this stage in their still-nascent career. That’s a compliment to the London band. Their 2021 breakthrough debut, Deep Green Field, got them cornered into a new wave of acerbic post-punk coming out of the UK with good company in the likes of black midi, Black Country, New Road, and Dry Cleaning, and none of those bands really sound like they did back then anymore (or don’t even exist at all anymore, for that matter) “Building 650”, the latest single from Squid’s third full-length album, Cowards, is another respective evolutionary turn in their moving away from those previously defined lines, as the listen opts for an attempt at sedating nervous angles, though a deep feeling of unease leaves a lingering disquiet of psychedelia in its wake. As those clangoring brainwaves and discordant thoughts eventually blend into more profound current made from a symphony for the lonely American, and it becomes clear that Squid are rebuilding the shape of everyday anxieties around around them, far from what you’d normally expect.

Directed by: Felix Geen, Daisuke Hasegawa, Kuya Tatsujo

Squid’s Cowards will be released February 7th on Warp Records.