Written by Tom Bedding
Squid deliver a fantastic post-punk record that is filled with groove, intent and playfulness that makes it stand out in this current post-punk wave.
Amps were playing out samples as a microphone was dangling from the ceiling for the opening instrumental, you can see the logic..right? ‘Resolution Square’ weirdly sets a calming tone to the very un-calming record, it is for sure an interesting opening sequence by the band. Then, clanging percussion runs throughout ‘G.S.K’, which originated from the drummer and vocalist, Ollie Judge, reading J.G. Ballard on his way to London, from Bristol. The lyrics and slight industrial tone of the instrumentation takes a look at the dystopian nature of Britain, the saxophone is a nice touch and the vocal delivery as ever is very colourful and ‘punkful’.
Squid sound so free on ‘Narrator’, which really brings punk and funk together strongly, giving us such an exploration into the songs idea and structure. The whole band seem to be in awe of the rhythm within the track; from the rhythm section to the guitars, there just seems so much freedom and confidence in the songs melody and journey…its impressively eight minutes long. ‘Narrator’ builds up so well to leave it as being such a strong cut on the album. Later on in the song, we are given some really engaging vocals by Martha Skye Murphy and again, slight industrial synths and guitar work that sound epic by the end of the song.
Now with the first half of ‘Boy Racers’, you think the band have made it to be more radio friendly….however….the song takes a medieval l turn…yes you have read that correctly. As we hit the halfway mark of the song, the band sound disappears during a transition (sounding like when the BFG is blowing on his dream trumpet) and we hear what is called a sausage bassoon, while the vocals become even more distorted and floating around our ears.
Now it does work and really takes the listener to a really impressive and bizarre place, which is a ket factor into why this outfit work. You may wonder why but it does actually work and shows that Squid can truly back up their weird ideas with great imagination and execution.
‘Paddling’ had been tinkered with a lot over the years by all the band members, eventually becoming the ‘pop centrepiece’ of the debut LP. Lyrically, the song tackles the scary nature of what is new and the fear of loosing yourself in forgetting to enjoy the simpler aspects of life, that are already there. The guitars sound so perfect for the context of the song, with the percussion choices really setting a sense of being on edge. We eventually get to an engaging melody and something you can imagine a crowd loving live at the midpoint of the song, something I am really curious to witness.
Next, Squid’s debut album has its stripped back moment at the halfway mark, in ‘Documentary Filmmaker’. The slow nature of it comes at a good point on the record, with the saxophone going from this sleazy pace before kicking it up as the vocals come in with a sense of a purpose and spark to it. It does feel like a breather but is still able to keep the listeners attention with its synths and various low pitch sounds, throughout the song.
Dubbed as the future sound of Squid, ‘2010’ shows the band as more of an alternative rock band than a post-punk outfit. It does surprise you but it is a really nice twist to ‘Bright Green Field'. The maturing nature of it feels so pleasant, yet the huge explosion we are given at points reminds you what this record is mainly about!
With lyrics looking at certain negative themes of society, ‘2010’ does really feel like an impressive moment on the record and a great insight into where the band are potentially heading to next. As the song concludes, the amazing guitar work and crazy synths merge together so well and really has a great dance and punk feel to it.
credit: Holly Whitaker
After a rather odd but interesting instrumental in ‘The Flyover’, we go into the song that was written by Squid when they were able to meet ups again after the first lockdown. ‘Peel St’ does have a jamming feel to it and you can imagine how the band were loving the experience of being able to play and just go to town with their sound. There seems to be a grunge feel to the song but it does generally keep to the post-punk and industrial qualities that we hear mostly on ‘Bright Green Field’. The sheer manic nature of it is such a highlight on the album, once again you can hear and feel how much the band are revelling in playing this song together.
The intentions of ‘Global Groove’ is impressive and lyrics at looking at the dark and bizarre nature of 24 hours new channels, going from war to a random feature of cute animals and back to the disasters of existence. I like the drumming on this track however I just feel this track just isn’t for me, it feels like its too much of backing for something else than its own song.
‘Pamphlets’ closes Squids debut LP in great form, offering as a great groove and amazing guitar parts throughout the eight minute finale. It feels so purposeful being the last hoorah of the record, it takes you on such a journey and every band member has their moment to deliver their quirky quality to the song. You can imagine the milking nature of this song for the live shows, which fans are obviously going to love and want to soak up every moment, of this impressive last track.
Overall, Squid deliver one of the strongest experimental post-punk albums, incorporating some great grooves to make sure that everyone wants to stick around through their bold and bizarre ideas. It will be fascinating to see where the band go next, will they take that more alt-rock vibe further or is this impressive post-punk wave that the U.K. is riding, going to stay for a while.