Quick-fire Questions: 10 minutes with Two-Man Giant Squid
Oh, to be a DJ in 2015. It was an age before ‘hangxiety’ had been invented, it was an age before rent shot up 20.3%, it was an age where indie was a roaring trade, and David Bowie was still with us. It was one hell of an age. These are the types of topics that Two-Man Giant Squid ponder in their playful, propulsive, and secretly profound songs.
The Brooklyn band are riding the wave of ‘resurgence’ that seems to have swept over the neighbour, generating a slew of superb new bands. Quite what is being ‘resurged’ is anyone’s guess, but if you look clearly at Two-Man Giant Squid, you’ll find a simple love for ‘the scene’ and the vitality it can serve up in our dismal daily lives. There is a drunken irony to their music that infectiously feels like a good time.
The five-piece first sprung up as a solo project for frontman Mitch Vinokur, but when his debut EP caught on, suddenly, the infectious fun in its sound yearned to be played live—and played with friends. That’s how the group now come across, as buoyant brethren battling against the barrage of modern bullshit with wit, wailing guitars and a healthy dose of LCD Soundsystem inspiration subverted with psychedelic originality.
Their latest self-titled album is a roaring encapsulation of all of that. The fact that it was followed up by a heavyweight cover of ‘I Think I’m In Love’ by Spiritualized should give you a flavour for the heady trip it provides. There’s a rapturous buzz in the rafters of the record—one that is perfectly poised but free from fussy overthinking.
With that in mind, we decided to test Vinokur’s speed of thought by throwing a few quick-fire questions his way. From the frontman’s thoughts on The Beatles to why Brooklyn is booming and where to grab a slice of pizza, this is our ten minutes with the rapidly rising Two-Man Giant Squid.
Quick-fire Questions with Two-Man Giant Squid:
1. What song would you want played at your funeral?
Two-Man Giant Squid: “‘Everybody Dance Now’.”
2. Can you sum up the mission statement of Two-Man Giant Squid in a sentence?
“It’s tough in one sentence because a defining trait of this band has always been in our desire to be difficult to define… whoops. But at its core, this project pushes the boundaries of modern post-punk with unpredictable, lengthy song structures that offer people an interesting escape from the horrors of mundane life. For every song we hit record on, we try to ask the listener: think again.”
3. Who is the most overlooked New York band in history?
“For me, it’s Jeffrey Lewis (and whatever band he is playing with at the time). He’s probably the greatest songwriter that not a lot of people know about. And I love that he’s just such a New York lifer. I’ve seen him around a few times and he’s still at it—putting out introspective albums, posting flyers of his shows, and creating his critically acclaimed comics.”
4. What’s the best song to start with to get into Two-Man Giant Squid?
“I think we have gotten a bit of a reputation lately as being an ‘album band’, so I think hitting play on our self-titled record is the way to go. Right from the start, that will kind of take you through a lot of different branches of our sound. If you want to go with an older one, though, ‘The Opposite’ would be my pick.”
5. What’s the best opening lyric ever?
“Dammit, so many great options here from the 2000s indie era that I grew up in. I’ve always thought Is This It had a knack for great opening lines. Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs, ‘Grab your mother’s keys we’re leaving’ in the first bar always gets me too. And nothing quite satisfies an ecstasy come-up like James Murphy’s ‘Everybody makes mistakes’ yell in ‘Tribulations’. But I’m going to go with an older one that I’ve really been into lately from The Cure: ‘I’ve been looking so long at these pictures of you that I almost believe that they’re real’.”
6. Where do you get the best slice of pizza in Brooklyn?
“This answer changes all the time, but right now, the answer has got to be Fini Pizza in Williamsburg. I hear amazing things about Di Fara as well, although I have not been there yet.”
7. Do you believe in ghosts?
“In the traditional sense, I don’t think I do. This world is already so fucked up as it is we don’t also need ghosts running around, do we? In a spiritual sense, though, I think the idea of ‘ghosts’ can be tied to memories that we don’t fully understand. And memories can haunt you. That’s what our song ‘Room Full of Ghosts’ touches on.”
8. What’s the weirdest gig you’ve ever played?
“Our first tour had some interesting moments. We’ve played in the back of a bowling alley where you have to walk through the bathroom to get to. But there was a show in Philadelphia on that same tour that might take the cake for this one. It was at someone’s house on a Sunday night, and the only guy there kept ordering Taco Bell delivery during our set.”
9. Where’s your favourite spot in the whole of New York?
“There’s a food truck that sells Momos Deep in Queens that I don’t know if I could ever live without. It’s hard for me to get to, but it’s so worth the trip. God bless you, Mr Food Truck Man.”
10. What has been your favourite album of 2025 so far?
“Oh man, my favourites just missed the cutoff—the albums I’ve been really into lately came out in late ’24 (This is Lorelei, Friko). Let’s see: Jelly Kelly and YAANG both released great EPs so far this year. Our bassist Yan also introduced me to Maruja this year; their stuff has been really provocative.”
11. Aside from the obvious, what’s the biggest problem with music in 2025?
“We need to make sure there are always spaces for artists and people to enjoy local music. Recently, a few classic venues in New York have closed down. If it’s happening like that in New York, I can’t imagine how difficult it is to have these spaces in smaller cities around the US. It’s important to support local scenes and venues. Oh, and Greta Van Fleet are still a problem. Where are those little fuckers?”
12. What’s one ‘classic album’ you’d happily delete from history?
“Sam, our keyboardist, wants me to say ‘anything by Steely Dan’. But I think it’s too easy to hate on Steely Dan these days. I’m going to say Van Halen. I get that it’s explosive and fun, but I’ve always hated that style of guitar playing. Give me a ‘less is more’ guitarist like David Gilmour over a super-shredder any day.”
13. Why is your local scene so hot right now?
“I think because of the variety of it. For example, bands like Short Porch, Skorts, and ourselves—our music all sounds very different from each other, but we’re all friends and are often all at the same shows watching and supporting other Brooklyn bands. It feels like there isn’t just one scene here. There are a bunch of smaller scenes that all group together into one big bubble, which makes the Brooklyn scene so strong. And we all push each other because of the high quality of music that everyone is putting out.”
14. What song are you most proud of writing to date?
“I’d say, ‘I was a DJ in 2015’. Even though I wish I could re-record the intro of it, I’m really proud of the lyrics and how the themes work on a lot of different levels. And I like the indie-dancefloor heartbreak sound of it all. I love any song that makes you want to both cry and dance at the same time.”
15. Are The Beatles overrated?
“I once told our guitarist Robbie when we were like 14 years old that I thought Zeppelin was overrated and he never let me forget it (I was young and confused, OK?). So I am not going to make the same mistake twice. The Beatles are the greatest hit makers of all time. And the recent Get Back documentary that swept through the younger generation showed just how badass they were back in the day. Hot take here: The Beatles are good.”
