Squid’s meticulous combination of social commentary, experimentation and intense emotion shapes into the fascinatingly twisted world of “Bright Green Field”.
Released May 7th, 2021, WARP Records.
The war with France is a possibility, now that Brexit has ruled fishing to be the ultimate decision-maker in breaking maritime peace. Boris Johnson is still standing as prime minister of the UK. The troubles are on the point of returning. Politics in the UK are more turbulent than ever and to top off the list of dystopian events being added to the UK every day, it’s snowing in May. So, it comes as no surprise that Squid’s debut focuses on the grey landscape that is surrounding them. Rather than peddling their singles from over two years ago with some new tracks thrown in for comfortability, “Bright Green Field” offers an entirely new experience, rooted in the intricacy that made their earlier work so exciting.
Brutally manic experimental rock brushes up against the Brighton groups love of Jazz and ‘World’ music, smashing into bursts of math-rock that go almost unnoticed under the wrath of vocalist Ollie Judge and his ferocious drumming. There’s an unshakeable sense of dread that fills “Bright Green Field”, which is unlike any of Squid’s previous releases and does so in such an alluring manner that you eerily crave more. The genuine impending sense of doom that lingers over the UK currently has become such a constant, that the madness in the imaginary landscape of “Bright Green Field” cityscape is all too familiar, yet near irresistible.
The dystopian element behind “Bright Green Field” finds Squid’s writing moving past the charm of their everyday characters from the past. Bringing to life the mystery of cleaners and the rage of men gambling their lives away, the net is now cast wider, but the lens is more focused than ever. Discussing the rise of right-wing propaganda (Pamphlets), storybook narratives from childhood (Narrator), even the desensitized response to global wars (Global Groove). “Bright Green Field” tackles interpersonal relationships with politics, capitalism and general society, even how we process images by involving Yukiyasu Kamitani of Kyoto University and ATR, (with his work in brain decoding and deciphering brain signals into the internal states of deep neural network), to create visuals that have accompanied all of the singles from “Bright Green Field” and its remaining tracks, inspired by Squid’s own images.
A meticulous combination of social commentary, experimentation and intense emotion shapes into the fascinatingly twisted world of “Bright Green Field”. Like Alice falling down the rabbit hole, the descent into Bright Green Field feels alien and unforgiving at first with its no holds barred attitude. Mercilessly fusing Jazz with spoken word, to immediately be interrupted by blasts of noise and heavy rock frequently, or even intricate incisions of math-rock at times will be a jarring experience for anyone unfamiliar with Squid. However, once the shock of Squid’s experimentation with genre wears off, the world of “Bright Green Field” is one you’ll never want to leave.
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