Seth White
Drummer first and foremost, but will happily give an opinion on anything rock, indie and punk related.
Adding further to the anticipation and buildup of their new album ‘Cowards,’ eclectic genre-bending art rockers Squid drop new single ‘Building 650‘
The single ‘Building 650’ is described by singer and drummer Ollie Judge as “a song inspired by our first ever trip to Japan” in which they played the 2022 Summersonic Festival. Their trip was just after a lift of the COVID travel ban, making them some of the first visitors back to Japan.
Ollie elaborates further, saying that he “decided to write lyrics about being an outsider visiting Japan, including a very particular type of loneliness one can feel visiting a country that is so different from their own.” The lyrical content of the song follows the oddball hyper-surreal nature of Squid’s sound, lines such as “a flame could melt his nose and mouth, a flame could melt almost anything” epitomise the indefinable quality Squid clearly possess.
The quintet draw on a range of musical methods in ‘Building 650′, with fantastic intricate interplay between bass and guitar and little intermissions from a selection of strings. The delivery of the vocals interact with the intense dynamics of the song, moving in a wavy format which creates the feeling of travelling through an unfamiliar space, as depicted in the music video.
The video, directed by Felix Geen and shot with the help of Daisuke Hasegawa and Kuya Tatsujo, is a fully captivating watch from start to finish, gripping your eyes in the same manner in which the tune itself does to your ears. By depicting a range of Tokyo city shots on wonderful 8mm film, the video aims to “depict the young people struggling to live and the landscape of the city” according to Tatsujo.
Overall, ‘Building 650’ shows fantastic promise from the quintet for their new record. It is brilliant to hear some good experimental tunes to kick of 2025 and it’s fair to say this year is shaping up to be one to remember for Squid. We can’t wait to hear the album!
Watch/Listen to ‘Building 650’ here:
Catch Squid at the following:
17.02 – Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool, UK
18.02 – O2 Ritz Manchester, Manchester, UK
19.02 – Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, UK
21.02 – NSU Domain, Newcastle, UK
22.02 – Leadmill, Sheffield, UK
24.02 – Junction 1, Cambridge, UK
25.03 – The Adrian Flux Waterfront, Norwich, UK
27.02 – O2 Academy Oxford, Oxford, UK
28.02 – Engine Rooms, Southampton, UK
01.03 – Lido, Margate, UK
02.03 – Chalk, Brighton, UK
04.03 – XOYO, Birmingham, UK
05.03 – Bristol Beacon, Bristol, UK
26.04 – Roundhouse, London, UK
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