Squid – ‘Cowards’ album review: post-punk poster boys explore evil and morality
THE SKINNY: It’s 2019, and I’m standing in the basement of Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds, watching a newly emerging quintet from Brighton by the name of Squid. Back then, the group were making waves with their newly unveiled single ‘Houseplants’, a song which would go on to define that era of the post-punk revival and spawn countless copycat bands, each less imaginative than the last. To their credit, though, Squid chose to diversify their sound following that successful single. They have come a long way from Hyde Park Book Club, and their newly unleashed album, Cowards, is a triumph.
From their formation back in 2016, Squid have certainly carved out their own niche. Typifying the post-punk sound of the late 2010s, the Brighton outfit quickly grew an audience within that style. You could forgive the group if they decided to continue in the same vein, but throughout their discography, they have instead chosen to explore new sounds and songwriting themes. Cowards, for instance, is an endlessly inventive exploration of morality and ideas of evil, with songs touching on subjects like the Manson Family murders, among similarly morbid fascinations.
This continuous theme of evil throughout the tracklisting aids the album in constructing a bold overarching narrative, which is expanded upon with each and every song. What’s more, the instrumentation present on Cowards reflects that unsettling, dark atmosphere with the help of grandiose orchestral movements blended with the band’s usual brand of guitar-led post-punk. The album features its fair share of experimental influences, too, and those moments are supported by the inclusion of collaborators, such as Tony Njoku and Pozi’s Rosa Brook, among others. These added voices give the record fresh appeal, broadening the musical horizons of Squid.
Along the way, through this exploration of criminology and gothic influences, Squid catch up with some old friends in the form of Dan Carey, who assisted with the production of the album. Carey’s Speedy Wunderground label released some of Squid’s earliest work, and these nods to the band’s past manage to continue the natural flow of their sound from album to album, bridging the gap between the old and new eras of Squid. The album’s opening track ‘Crispy Skin’, is particularly good at paying homage to their previous efforts while driving forth this bold new direction for the band.
For fans of: Fisherman’s beanies, Brudenell Social Club, and rapidly approaching the age at which you can be considered a ‘6 Music dad’.
A concluding comment from a psychology professor: “I know the previous few years have been tough for everyone, but going from writing about ‘Houseplants’ to exploring the Manson Family murders in only six years is worth studying. “
Cowards track by track:
Release date: February 7th | Producer: Marta Salogni, Grace Banks, and Dan Carey | Label: Warp Records
‘Crispy Skin’: Opening tones of an acid-trip merry-go-round soon give way to a sprawling exploration of subconsciousness. Sonically, the opener is an excellent bridging track between the old days of Squid and this bold new era. [4/5]
‘Building 650’: Continuing on the dark atmosphere and theming of the opener, this endearingly uneasy track features catchy instrumentation – the orchestral influences being particularly enjoyable – coupled with intriguing, if unsettling, imagery. I don’t know who ‘Frank’ is, but I wouldn’t like to meet him. [4.5/5]
‘Blood on the Boulders’: An unexpectedly gothic offering, blending a piano ballad with a sound akin to Suicide’s ‘Frankie Teardrop’, this dark exploration of death tourism and murder cults is not what you might expect from Squid, but that only serves to make the track more captivating and compelling. [4/5]
‘Fieldworks I’: ‘Fireworks’ is undoubtedly the focal point of this album’s tracklisting, and its first part is grandiose, inventive and building in both intensity and intrigue. In many ways, part one of the composition is little more than an introduction, yet it manages to stand on its own two feet in terms of songwriting quality. [3.5/5]
‘Fieldworks II’: Concluding the brooding atmosphere and grand orchestral movements of part one, ‘Fireworks II’ is a fantastic example of Squid’s development in sound, from the youthful post-punk of their early releases to something much more profound and expansive. [4/5]
‘Cro-Magnon Man’: Another fairly unsettling yet musically compelling offering which sees the dark sounds of Squid contrasted beautifully with collaborators Tony Njoku and Pozi’s Rosa Brook. [3.5/5]
‘Cowards’: The album’s title track summarises the dark criminology at the heart of its inspiration. However, ‘Cowards’ also hints at something more mellow, introspective, and personal. It is this diversity and lyrical complexity that makes Squid such a lasting force within post-punk music. [4/5]
‘Showtime!’: Although the beginning of the penultimate song is fairly normal – at least by the standards of this record – it soon descends into a chaotic menagerie of sounds and effects, culminating in a thrilling wall of sound that ends just as soon as it begins. [4.5/5]
‘Well Met (Fingers Through The Fence)’: Closing out their record with an eight-minute collaborative epic, Squid expertly reaffirm their position among the most inventive and original groups in Britain at the moment. [5/5]
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