News: Squid announce debut album with new track, ‘Narrator’

BRIGHTON quintet Squid have shed light on their massively anticipated debut album, Bright Green Field: due to be released on May 7th.

It’ll boast production from Dan Carey and boast entirely new material from this continually, creatively ploughing band. They’ve just released “Narrator”, accompanied by stunning visuals from Felix Green.

“Narrator”, perhaps the band’s most ambitious, audaciously euphoric cacophony yet, traverses infectious funk and screeching chaos with emphatic deftness; the zenith reinforced by vocalist Ollie Judge’s agitated barks of “I play mine”, as percussive guitar strikes atop. This culmination of spiralling chaos is contrasted by the melodic exuberance from guest vocalist Martha Skye Murphy.

Besides the notable, husky, saccharine vocals, Murphy was also integral to the track’s thematic core. Inspired by the 2019 film A Long Day’s Journey Into Night, “Narrator” “follows a man who is losing the distinction between memory, dream, and reality and how you can often mould your memories of people to fit a narrative that benefits your ego.”

Murphy furthers the track’s introspective and socially ruminative direction: suggesting this narrator as emblematic of “… a male who wishes to portray women as submissive characters in their story. After some discussions with Martha she thought it’d be a good idea that she play the part of the woman wanting to break free from the dominating story the male has set.”

Videographer Felix Green set out to “…make a video about the virtual creation process for some time”, capturing  the “‘behind the digital curtain’ part of 3D design”, which “… looks more interesting than the final finished product since it conveys a process and an authorship.”

The track is seamlessly contorting, propelled by the post-punk vigour of Judge’s drumming as well as the swirling synthesizer maelstrom,and cascading, arpeggiated and driving guitars.

The new single marries the organic and artificial together; as Squid have done to dizzyingly tremendous effect on previous tracks like “Broadcaster”, both instrumentally and thematically.

Like the previous antithetical themes Squid have juxtaposed, Bright Green Field also fulfils the band’s deceptively layered intent. While the title’s unabashed tranquillity alludes to rural England, the album also constructs a telescopic paradox, putting the surface-layer serenity against dystopian landscapes.

Besides this lyrical relocation from people to place, the album is a joyous and eclectic monument in Squid’s evolution, simultaneously reflecting the world’s tumult through their endlessly (and seemingly effortlessly) winding musical avenues; while also boasting flavourful recording techniques, a distorted choir of 30 voices, as well as a horn and string ensemble featuring the likes of Emma-Jean Thackray and Lewis Evans from Black Country, New Road.

Squid’s Bright Green Field will be released by Warp digitally and on cassette, CD, and 2xLP, with an indies exclusives vinyl edition, on May 7th; you can pre-order your copy here.

For the album tracklist and the band’s rescheduled UK/EU tour dates, see below.