Squid

Crank wave

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, with the group making 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 group fine-tuned their mix of discordant indie rock and post-punk, resulting in their debut album. Bright Green Field was issued by Warp at the beginning of 2021. There are other bands with the same name: 2 - Squid were a 90’s industrial/hard rock band based in Preston, Lancashir...