Squid

Squid are a propulsive U.K. post-punk combo who infuse jazz, indie rock, prog, and Krautrock into their rangy sound. The Brighton group gained traction in the late 2010s with a pair of EPs and prominent festival appearances, then signed to the Warp label, which released their debut album, Bright Green Field, in early 2021. Featuring production by Dan Carey, the record drew widespread acclaim, earning a place on numerous critics' year-end lists. The more progressive and rhythmically intricate O Monolith followed in 2023, by which time Squid had already completed their next album. Stripped-down in tone but not intensity, the group's third LP, Cowards, was released in 2025.Formed while at university in Brighton, the five-piece -- Ollie Judge (vocals, drums), Louis Borlase (vocals, guitar), Anton Pearson (guitar), Laurie Nankivell (bass), and Arthur Leadbetter (keys) -- played their first gig after replying to an advert for a "young person's jazz night." Quickly putting a set list together, their idiosyncratic mix of half-yelped, half-sung vocals, jerky, angular guitars, brass blasts, and droney synth lines caught the ears of the U.K.'s underground scene with gigs following across the South-East with regular trips to London. The group issued a handful of tracks and singles -- 2016's "Perfect Teeth" and 2017's "LINO" -- before being picked up by Speedy Wunderground, home to the likes of black midi, TOY, and Kae Tempest. "The Dial" appeared toward the end of 2018, and the group made a name for themselves in 2019 with packed live shows including slots at the Green Man and Glastonbury festivals. Rounding out the year, Squid issued a second release for the label, the four-track EP Town Centre. In 2020, after inking a deal with Sheffield's legendary Warp Records, the group set about recording their debut album. With Dan Carey (Kae Tempest, black midi) on production duties, the band fine-tuned their mix of discordant indie rock and post-punk, and Bright Green Field was issued by Warp at the beginning of 2021. A critical and commercial success, the record topped the U.K. Independent albums chart and reached number four on the pop chart. For their follow-up, Squid became even more adventurous, leaning heavily into prog rock and furnishing their new songs with a more elaborate rhythmic sense. Much of the material was worked out on tour and then recorded in Wiltshire at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios. O Monolith was released in June 2023, and the band spent the next year on a hectic tour in support. Quick workers, Squid had already completed tracking for their third album by the time O Monolith came out, and they had the luxury of a long listening period to evaluate and mix it. Produced by Marta Salogni and Grace Banks, it moved away from the complexities of its predecessor, focusing on more concise song structures and instrumentation. Thematically, the set centered around concepts of evil and characters making bad or entirely wrong choices. Titled Cowards, the album arrived in February 2025.
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