Squid

St Luke’s 19 February 2025

Up until fairly recently Squid were a totally unknown quantity to me.  While browsing in one of my favourite record shops, Some Great Reward, I came across the album Bright Green Field and was taken by the short description the shop had added to the plastic covering. A wee bit of online research saw fans also liking Mogwai, The Smile, The Murder Capital and more, all bands I was more than familiar with.

Fairly impressed with the songs on that album, it was an easy decision a few weeks later to add their latest release Cowards, and buy a ticket to see the band promote this album, initially due to be in the Old Fruitmarket, but then on Thursday night see them at our favourite venue in the city St. Luke’s.

Of all the gigs on our #AtoZMusicalTour, it would be fair to say it is difficult to compartmentalise Squid to any of the genres we are happy to listen to. And in truth, the gig was all the better for this differentiation.  

At times the tracks reverberating around the venue would not be out of place as soundtracks for movies as they ebbed and flowed with changing tempos throughout.

As continually pointed out in previous reviews, the live renditions of albums or individual tracks are often very different from the relatively staid recordings coming out of the speakers from the records at home.

In the case of all the tracks taken from the Cowards album, each was given a new life, a new purpose, and the crowd were enthralled by the nuances that the band brought together on stage.

The live production is also enhanced by the multi-instrumental abilities of the band, especially Arthur Leadbetter on keyboards, cello and percussion and Laurie Nankivell on bass, brass and percussion. Within what was the confines of a former church, the addition of brass and strings throughout the night filled the venue with a genuine crisp sound.

As for the other band members, lead singer and drummer Ollie Judge, Anton Pearson on guitars and Louis Borlase on bass and tech gizmos formed a compact unit. There were few if any extended guitar or drum solos, few times when Ollie was left on his own to carry a song.

Squid epitomised the collective unit and, as we filed out of St Lukes, we were left with the impression that Squid really are unlike most of the musical acts we are currently familiar with.  They are an original and experimental rock band with a nod to post-punk, krautrock and even cinemascope soundtracks.

Go see for yourself!

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Support Act

Martha Skye Murphy

Martha Skye Murphy, stood alone, centre stage behind her keyboard and, for maybe 30 minutes or so, enthralled the growing crowd with a performance that is difficult to describe in words. There were reminders of Kate Bush, Bjork, possibly even Roisin Murphy if that helps. Lifted, from her own website the following apt description sums up perfectly her show.

….. she is an experimentalvocalist and musician using genre and vocal metamorphosis to dislocate and immerse listeners within encoded narratives. Unpredictable, theatrical and tender.

Her support act for Squid is more than adequately summed up with those last three words. You can also add ‘captivating’, as you just did not know what was coming next.