CD of The Week

Squid - Cowards (Warp)

There has been a clear trend for the British post-punk bands that have emerged in the last decade to make concerted efforts to shed the genre’s trappings on their latest releases. Last year, Fontaines D.C. and Yard Act released eclectic albums that moved beyond expectations and Squid’s third album, Cowards, makes a similar leap. However, while other bands have taken in hip-hop and electropop influences, Squid lean further into their abstract, arty side on Cowards, which sharesthe ominous tenor of early-Peter Gabriel and Kid A/Amensiac-era Radiohead. The result is an album that is only occasionally accessible but retains a startling hold on a listener attuned to its weird wavelength.

The Brighton-based band has several members with a jazz background and Squid’s music has always possessed a groove unlike many of their contemporaries. That groove is accentuated on several tracks that make a strong impact. A glitchy, clacking melody pulses through “Cro-Magnon Man” with bass, drums, and synths colliding into each other as the tempo gradually slows. Meanwhile, Krautrock influences pop up at the start of “Building 650” before strings (from guest musicians Ruisi Quartet) become more prominent, underscoring the haunting subject matter of realizing that your friend might be a murderer.

The lyrics throughout the album are twisted, with inspiration taken from horror movies and dystopian sci-fi novels. Singer/drummer Ollie Judge has an off-kilter voice that sells these tales of cannibalism (“Crispy Skin”), the Manson family (“Blood on the Boulders”), and uncovering the occult mysteries of a small town (“Cowards”). When Judge whispers “I’m evil too” on “Fieldworks II,” it is all too easy to believe his character. All the best elements of the album come together on “Showtime!,” which begins as a creepy character study led by a funky bassline before devolving into a strange, tense collage of jittery synths and keyboard effects. The result is as thrilling as anything on Dexter or Yellowjackets.

Composed of nine menacing story-songs, Cowards is a dynamic, unpredictable, smartly produced (courtesy of Marta Salogni, who has worked with Depeche Mode and English Teacher) album that shows Squid evolving into a truly special band. It may take a few close listens to click, but the band’s third album is both their most daring and complete release yet.

Join Squid for their Cowards Tour coming to Philly's Underground Arts on Tuesday, May 20th.

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Review by Sol