<p><span><span><span>- One of the strangest new bands emerging from London, a city that sure does pump out a lot of bizarre acts, Squid excel in a debut that feels spontaneous, edgy and humorous all at once.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>In the lead up to that debut, </span><em>Bright Green Field</em><span>,</span><em> </em><span>Squid released the nearly nine minute long banger </span><em>Narrator</em><span> as their lead single. Clearly not concerned with putting their most accessible foot forward, </span><em>Narrator</em><span> launches the record with a wild and unconventional approach. As the track continues, guest vocalist </span><strong>Martha Skye Murray</strong><span>’s charming vocals dissipate into sullen spoken word and then into screaming. There’s a thematic benefit to the album kicking off with </span><em>Narrator</em><span> too, as Squid more than assures you that they are in charge of their own story.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>With full creative autonomy on their side, courtesy of a </span><strong>Warp</strong><span> signing and a lot of well-placed confidence, </span><em>Bright Green Field </em><span>echoes the current post-punk movement in the British Isles, but iterjects more weirdness than their contemporaries and is the better for it. Weirdness comes first with Squid, and once you realise that, you’re in for a delicious array of art rock.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><em>Boy Racers</em><span> follows </span><em>Narrator</em><span> with another eight minutes of sludgy instrumentation. Though it opens with jangly guitars and bright, lavish drumming, the track closes with a haunting few minutes of dark synths, more akin to </span><strong>Angelo Badalamenti</strong><span> than </span><strong>Black Midi</strong><span> or </span><strong>Slint</strong><span>. </span><em>Paddling</em><span> then flips to a completely different approach, transitioning the darkness back into a cautiously gleeful, rock cut.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>One of the best qualities of </span><em>Bright Green Field </em><span>is Squid’s balance between quirk and upbeat moments and disintegrating, tortured dread. Often these changes occur midway through a song, like a sudden bout of manic energy or feeling of vertigo from a band close to the top of the indie world.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><em>Peel St</em><span>, sees this transition happening on a more internal level, as Squid’s </span><strong>Ollie Judge</strong><span> contemplates their newfound creative freedom, “</span><em>Well, I’ve always been told what to do, but now I’m free.</em><span>” He repeats that last line with different inflections, as if trying to will himself to act on the words, to create music that follows that weird, but honest sounds that captivate the band.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>A more literal name for the record would be </span><em>Brighter Green Field, </em><span>an album that sees Squid unleash the potential they’ve flirted with a previous EP and array of standalone singles. Their debut album is a captivating odyssey that never feels anything but fresh. </span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>- Sean Tayler.</span></span></span></p>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1351277344/size=large/bgcol=f…; seamless><a href="https://squiduk.bandcamp.com/album/bright-green-field">Bright Green Field by Squid</a></iframe>
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