Squid have introduced particulars of a brand new album known as ‘Cowards’, and shared lead single ‘Crispy Pores and skin’. Test it out beneath.
Marking their third studio album, ‘Cowards’ is about for launch on February 7, and explores 9 tales the place protagonists reckon with cults, charisma and apathy – with the band exploring the divide between proper and fallacious.
It is usually set to see Squid push the boundaries of their sound, with the English artwork rock quintet exploring inspirations of people, kosmische, psychedelia, jazz and electronics.
To have fun the announcement, the band have shared the primary preview of the file within the type of lead single ‘Crispy Pores and skin’. The tune comes because the opening observe for the LP, and takes on inspiration from a dystopian world.
“Am I the unhealthy one? / Yep, sure I’m / I couldn’t eat one other factor / No extra pages and pages of crispy pores and skin,” sings frontman Ollie Decide, taking over a tense and paranoid sound. The lyrics of the tune come partly impressed by the novel ‘Tender Is The Flesh’, which depicts a dystopian imaginative and prescient the place cannibalism is the norm.
“‘Crispy Pores and skin’ was lyrically impressed by a dystopian novel I learn the place cannibalism turns into the societal norm and people are manufactured and bought in supermarkets,” Decide defined of the inspiration. “I feel when most individuals learn books like these they image themselves because the type of particular person that may take the ethical excessive floor inside these narratives.
“The observe was written about how the truth of getting a moral-compass in these tales of desperation and horror could be extraordinarily tough.”
Take a look at the music video for the one above, which is directed by Takashi Ito and adapts his award-winning experimental brief movie Zone (1995).
As for the album as an entire, ‘Cowards’ was recorded at Church Studios in Crouch Finish with Mercury Prize-winning producer Marta Salogni and Grace Banks. It additionally comes produced by Dan Carey, who additionally recorded the band’s first two albums.
Combined in Seattle and mastered in New York, contributions to the file additionally come from Danish experimental songsmith Clarissa Connelly, Tony Njoku (composer, pianist and singer), Rosa Brook from punk group Pozi, Zands Duggan (percussion), and Jonny Greenwood collaborators the Ruisi Quartet for violin, viola and cello.
“The vary of sound allowed Squid to push out additional, writing preparations that construct into crescendo earlier than sheer drops into discrete melody,” reads a press launch. “Fleeting voices in eerie rounds, evoke prehistoric tune and nursery rhyme.” You possibly can pre-order the album right here and discover the total tracklist beneath.
The ‘Cowards’ tracklist is:
1. ‘Crispy Pores and skin’
2. ‘Constructing 650’
3. ‘Blood on the Boulders’
4. ‘Fieldworks I’
5. ‘Fieldworks II’
6. ‘Cro-Magnon Man’
7. ‘Cowards’
8. ‘Showtime!’
9. ‘Properly Met (Fingers Via The Fence)’
The announcement of a brand new album comes as Squid are gearing as much as tour throughout the UK subsequent 12 months.
The dates kick off in Liverpool on February 17, and proceed all through the month with reveals in Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Sheffield and extra.
From there, they’ll shut off the tour with 5 reveals throughout the nation in March and April. These begin with a slot at Lido in Margate, and culminate with a gig on the Roundhouse in London on April 26. Go to right here for remaining tickets.
In different Squid information, earlier this 12 months the band introduced that that they had been pressured to cancel upcoming tour dates, following a member of the band being concerned in an accident.
Describing themselves as “extraordinarily unhappy” to make the announcement, the band defined that “one in all us was concerned in an accident and has a number of facial fractures.” They stated they have been informed it could be unsafe for the unnamed band member to fly, and that whereas that they had appeared into getting a alternative to fill in, “the character of our music signifies that that is very tough to rearrange at a couple of days’ discover, and we might be unable to acquire the mandatory work permits in time.”
They continued, “We have been massively wanting ahead to enjoying in these new cities and assembly our followers who’ve been so supportive, and this consequence could be very disappointing to us all. We’ll work to return again and play these reveals as quickly as we will.”
Over the summer time, Squid performed a sequence of reveals throughout the UK, Europe and South America, together with a set at Glastonbury 2024. Additionally they performed North America earlier this 12 months to tour their second album, ‘O Monolith’, which was launched in June 2023.
NME gave the album a four-star assessment, calling it “a monument to daring creative progress” and saying: “If Squid could make daring, experimental music sound as enjoyable as this, then they’ll take some stopping.”
