I won’t lie to you and say that I’ve been a fan of this band since the day they started out, I’ll be honest and admit that I only really got turned on to them just before the release of their debut album Bright Green Field which landed in May 2021 courtesy of the fine folk at BBC Radio 6 Music who did a grand job of plugging their material to death.

Squid are a quintet made up of Ollie Judge (lead vocals, drums), Louis Borlase (guitar, bass guitar, vocals), Arthur Leadbetter (keyboards, strings, percussion), Laurie Nankivell – (bass guitar, brass, percussion) & Anton Pearson (guitar, bass, vocals, percussion), their style is something else but draws heavily on a blend of Post-Punk, Krautrock and New Wave, I like to refer to it as ‘Post-Kraut-Wave’, I might see if they’d like to use that in their future promotional material….

After the release of Bright Green Field, Squid played a bunch of dates including some standout festival appearances at Latitude, Standon Calling, Green Man, Leeds Festival and End of the Road. Tonight’s show at Exeter Phoenix was the last they would play prior to ferrying the 10 legged groove machine overseas to take in the European leg of the tour including dates at key venues in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy and Spain. After a much needed break, they are to hit US soil in November before embarking on a mini tour of Ireland in the new year, busy? You bet your ass they are, and for bloody good reason!

Listening to the album a number of times ahead of the gig, I considered how their sound would translate, would we be listening to a carbon copy of the record or would it be loosely based on the sonic themes that the album delivers, the simple, monotonous electronic beats with sharp, angular sporadic flourishes dropped in throughout? I guess only time would tell.

Opening the evening’s entertainment was a duo going by the name ‘Fowl’. Hailing from Torquay and Huddersfield (yes there was a joke cracked regarding rehearsals being a pain in the ass), this duo bought a serene approach to their music, sweeping piano pieces and gorgeous violin which had the entire room in silence, hanging on every note played. Songs covered a multitude of subject matter including bindweed, tongue and groove flooring and holes (yes, holes). Midway through the set, Laurie and Ollie from SQUID joined them on stage for a track called ‘Nailed’ which was really well received.

I chatted to Hugh Nankivell (Keys/Vocals/Strings) after the show and asked him if SQUID had offered them the support slot when they hit Europe later that week, sadly, the offer had NOT been extended to them but Hugh was grateful that they had managed to support them in Exeter as he only lives in Torquay and could easily get home to his own bed!

They were plugging their album ‘Humankindweed’ throughout the set and mentioned that it was an album created during the pandemic and I’m sure he said that they had actually recorded the album without both being in the same room at the same time, unless he was taking about how the album was written (I’m getting old, my ears aren’t what they were!). Either way, it’s WELL worth a listen, you can check it out on Spotify and you can also lay your hands on a limited edition 180 gram vinyl which is available from their Bandcamp page.

After a short break to re-arrange the stage, we were ready for the main act of the night.

The lights dimmed, a low key synth track played as the members of Squid took to the stage, strapped on their instruments and launched into their set. The first thing that struck me as they sauntered through their 12 track show was the frequency that they changed instruments, one minute, it was a bass guitar, then a cornet, a guitar, even cowbells!

Midway through the show, two of the band took to the back of the stage where they experimented with a host of electronic wizardry akin to the likes of Orbital or The Chemical Brothers, creating some unworldly soundscapes whilst the rest of the band kept the backbeat pumping.

Their sound was deliciously off kilter, stabbing angular guitar punctuated the air as Ollie Judge yelped the lyrics into his microphone whilst keeping the drums on track whilst the lilting tones of a cornet floated around the auditorium. Tonight was as much a feast for the eyes as it was a banquet for the ears, you really didn’t know what to expect and this is what I love about music, the sheer inability to second guess what the band will throw at you next.

I forget which song it was but it started in quite a normal way and broke down into a 5 minute Krautrock-esque drone which sounded utterly impeccable, the monotonous beats, the electronic noodlings, all vying for a place in the queue whilst the audience stood aghast at what was unfolding in front of their eyes. Whilst Laurie and Louis took to the electronics, Arthur and Anton hit the floor, playing their effects pedals as if they were instruments in their own right. Ollie demonstrated that you don’t need to be behind the drumkit in order to keep the beat, taking a stroll around the kit, smashing the ride cymbal at opportune times to hold it all together.

It’s rare that you get the chance to witness a band perform their debut album live on stage and what an experience it was.

I caught up with Ollie after the show and he said how excited they were about playing throughout Europe and more so, the trip to Amsterdam as they were going on the Eurotunnel (he looked very excited about that!) I asked him how he felt about being out on the road again playing to real audiences and he said that it was great to be back and hopes that people enjoyed the shows (I think that would be a resounding ‘yes’ from everyone). Ollie added that before the pandemic, they would regularly play to a couple of hundred people but since Summer 2021, they noticed a surge in ticket sales, I asked him what he thought the catalyst was for this and he added that with so many big names in radio and the music word picking up on their music, it has formed an organic tsunami with the 5 band members perched on the top of the wave.

All in all, a wonderfully exciting night of music, performed by a band who have it all, youth, superb talent and a die-hard fanbase which is growing steadily by the day!

Words and Pictures by Steve Muscutt