UK band Squid build up worlds only to destroy them – Chicago Reader

The five members of London band Squid are architectural engineers who plot points of distinction for listeners to marvel ator, as vocalist and drummer Ollie Judge sings on Narrator, off their 2021 debut, Bright Green Field (Warp), they mold beauty out of clay. The 2020 single Broadcaster consists mostly of a description of outdoor environs and listening to a voice beamed through the air, but the bands tendency to set their construction projects atop music colored by a whirling succession of influences might make lyrical nuance tough to decipher; Judges alternately deadpan and screamy vocal delivery from behind the kit recalls the punky portions of Neu!, the nihilism of the Falls Mark E. Smith, and the no-wave yelps of James Chance, among other things. The music Squid have cultivated is broader, though. Along with referencing Gang of Fours funk-punk polemics and mid-period Kraftwerk, they touch on Londons contemporary jazz scene, including a guest spot from rising multi-instrumentalist Emma-Jean Thackray on the spindly Paddling. They also cover experimental 20th-century composer Steve Reich on a pandemic-times recording to benefit the East Bristol Food Bank, and they reference dystopian sci-fi novels in interviews. As taut and visceral as Bright Green Field sounds, the live renditions of these songs could top the recordwith any luck theyll reach the fever pitch of the bands 2019 single, Houseplants, which underlines their statement of purpose, musically and philosophically. And I find myself looking for a future that doesnt exist, Judge shrieks. This is my beautiful house and I cant afford to live in it. Here Squid build up the white-picket-fence myth only to tear it down with motorik rhythms, down-stroked guitar, cornet filigree, and the sound of the well-read and cultured giving themselves over to utter abandon.

Squid, Sharkula x Mukqs Sat 11/13, 9:30 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, sold out, 21+

Squid, Sharkula x Mukqs Sun 11/14, 9:30 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, $15, 21+

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UK band Squid build up worlds only to destroy them - Chicago Reader