Squid Share New Track “Building 650”

I’ve got my finger on the pulse of something that no other blogger possibly has and that’s a ragdoll cat with an attitude.  I don’t know what that had to do with anything so enjoy Squid’s latest.

 

Late last year, English art rock quintet Squid announced their new album Cowards, out February 7th via Warp Records, with “Crispy Skin.” A “sprawling six-minute opus” (Brooklyn Vegan), the lead single was heralded by The FADER as “a surprisingly breezy song about cannibalism and moral cowardice.” Today’s single, “Building 650,” is the band’s most immediate, punchiest, and colorful track to date. Throughout the song, Squid dissolve in a haze of light and color — sharp outlines begin to blur in relentless motion as intricately beautiful layers forge and bend in symphony.   Ollie Judge explains: “‘Building 650’ is a song inspired by our first ever trip to Japan. We played the Summersonic festival in 2022, luckily we were booked to play 2 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 it’s hectic and full of people but when you listen, it’s eerily quiet.”   “Building 650” arrives with a video directed by longtime collaborator Felix Geen who shot the video in Japan alongside local directors DaisukeHasegawa and Kuya Tatsujo. “For this script, I believed it was necessary to incorporate not only inspiration from the novel (In The Miso Soup) but also scenes from contemporary Japan,” says Kuya. “The wave of technology is overwhelming, and an intense sense of fear, driven by the need to interact with others, envelops the city. Amidst this, I think I was able to depict the young people struggling to live and the landscape of the city.”   Geen elaborates: “I feel that the whole video came together very nicely with the human touch added by Daisuke and Kuya. I got to have my fun with the expansive and deconstructed city shots, and it was all brought back down to earth and grounded by the raw and natural 8mm film work from them.”     Cowards is about evil, consisting of nine stories punched by vantablack comedy. Protagonists reckon with cults, charisma and apathy. Real and imagined characters wade into the dark ocean between right and wrong. It is Squid’s most courageous album to date, simultaneously growing in scope and returning to basics. While their previous records 2021’s Bright Green Field and O Monolith, “one of the most impressively creative rock records to grace 2023” (Consequence), dealt with quintessentially British themes lyrically and sonically, Cowards sees the band — Louis Borlase, Ollie Judge, Arthur Leadbetter, Laurie Nankivell, and Anton Pearson — looking outward, exploring textures of folk, kosmische, psychedelia, jazz and electronics.   The band recorded Cowards at Church Studios in Crouch End with Mercury prize winning producer Marta Salogni and Grace Banks, with additional production by longtime collaborator Dan Carey, who recorded the band’s first two albums. The record was mixed by John McEntire (Tortoise) before being mastered by Heba Kadry. For additional voice and instruments, Squid called on distinguished friends and musicians: Danish experimental songsmith Clarissa Connelly, composer, pianist and singer Tony Njoku, Rosa Brook from punk group Pozi, percussion wizard Zands Duggan, and Jonny Greenwood collaborators the Ruisi Quartet for violin, viola and cello. The range of sound allowed Squid to push out further, writing arrangements that build into crescendo before sheer-drops into discrete melody. Fleeting voices in eerie rounds, evoke prehistoric song and nursery rhyme.   Following a sold-out New York City show to celebrate the announcement of Cowards, Squid will embark on a UK and EU headline tour beginning next month. A full list of dates are listed below and tickets are on sale now. Pre-order Cowards Watch the Video for “Crispy Skin” Watch “Crispy Skin (Live in New York, 2024)” Squid 2025 Tour Dates Mon. Feb. 17 – Liverpool, UK @ Invisible Wind Factory Tue. Feb. 18 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Ritz Manchester Wed. Feb. 19 – Glasgow, UK @ Old Fruitmarket Fri. Feb. 21 – Newcastle, UK @ NSU Domain Sat. Feb. 22 – Sheffield, UK @ Leadmill Mon. Feb 24 – Cambridge, UK @ Junction 1 Tue. Feb 25 – Norwich, UK @ The Adrian Flux Waterfront Thu. Feb. 27 – Oxford, UK @ O2 Academy Oxford Fri. Feb. 28 – Southampton, UK @ Engine Rooms Sat. March 1 – Margate, UK @ Lido Sun. March 2 – Brighton, UK @ Chalk Tue. March 4 – Birmingham, UK @ XOYO Wed. March 5 – Bristol, UK @ Bristol Beacon Wed. April 9 – Paris, FR @ Cabaret Sauvage Thu. April 10 – Cologne, DE @ Club Volta Fri. April 11 – Dresden, DE @ Polimagie Festival Sat. April 12 – Berlin, DE @ Lido Mon. April 14 – Schorndorf, DE @ Manufaktur Tue. April 15 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg Wed. April 16 – Antwerp, BE @ Trix Fri. April 18 – Rotterdam, NL @ Motel Mozaique Festival Sat. April 19 – Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje Sat. April 26 – London, UK @ Roundhouse