Squid are back with ‘Broadcaster’, the AA-side companion to their recent offering ‘Sludge’. The tracks are getting a limited edition vinyl pressing, released via new label Warp Records on 26 June, featuring an extended version of ‘Broadcaster’.
‘Broadcaster’ is built around an arpeggiated synth sequence that was conceived during a writing session in a woodland cabin by Arthur whilst the rest of the band were out hiking. As the song develops, guitars, drum machines and delays join the fray, pushing the track into its chaotic and visceral crescendo. All this works as the perfect foil to singer Ollie Judge’s oblique lyrics.
Ollie on ‘Broadcaster’: “Lyrically the track was inspired by the visual artist Naim June Paik and his TV Garden installation. I thought it blurred the lines between a dystopian and utopian vision. I imagined what it must be like living synonymously amongst nature and technology in the most literal way I could imagine, with TVs towering over me amongst forests.”
Paired with their richly percussive and sonically evolving ‘Sludge’, the quintet not only opens up their sound, but they do so without abandoning the experimentation and playfulness that made them such an exciting prospect when they burst on the scene just over a year ago.
Squid recently released a fan-sourced lyric video for ‘Sludge’ which was inspired by a followers’ interpretation of the single, Squid fans around the world - and the band themselves - have contributed views from their isolation to create the visual.
Squid are in a constant, energetic state of evolution which is reflected in the intense and infectious spectrum of sound contained in their propulsive songs. This wild and restless creativity points the way forward for a band with no limits on what they might do next.