The Cornish bank surprised everyone last week with potentially one of the best kept secrets we’ve seen in Cornwall’s fast growing and ever changing music scene
Marking the launch of their new residency program The Vault Club, the infamous Brighton experimental post-punk rockers SQUID returned to the shores of Falmouth for a surprise residency show.
After christening the venue back in 2020, in a post covid seated performance, the band were invited back to once again bring life to yet another exciting step forward for the Cornish Bank. In the depths of this hub of creativity, SQUID spent a week in the vault searching for and creating treasure to share with us – and it paid off massively.
In one of the fastest selling shows at the bank to date, the band shared with us their newest work in an intimate and ecstatic crowd. Subverting expectations the band started with melodic and sombre tones, straying away from the heavy and high tempo they’re famous for, and demonstrating that this experimental set would be unlike anything we’ve seen from them before.
Swapping sweeping drums for slower drum loops they clearly were not afraid to show us something new. With a sombre rhythm section providing a thick marching baseline accompanied by melancholic melodic vocals serenaded with brass instruments harking the sound of defeat alongside various synths and electrical elements, the band, piece by piece embraced us in a bleak, desolate soundscape.
With an ever more attentive crowd this wall of sound began to adapt and evolve, with a return to a more familiar art rock sound. With new tracks drawing inspiration from darker themes such as cannibalism and the everyday dread that comes from visiting the dentist the band experimented within new material while keeping the essence and identity loved by fans. Throughout this explorations we were also surprised by fan favourites tracks such as ‘G.S.K’ and ‘Documentary Filmmaker’ which blended seamlessly within the themes established in their newer material, and fitting around the ideas explored around exploitation and menial life under large corporations and cityscapes.
The new sound and journey the band have developed over their residency here and it’s exciting to see where the ideas and concepts will develop across their releases. With such an intimate and experimental show, myself along with the crowd feel honoured to be a part of such a defining moment for both the band and The Cornish Bank.
After hosting such an incredible night of music and a visit from rock legend Frank Turner, The Cornish Bank never fails to impress us with the huge names and the support for local grassroots music they provide. While writing this the Bank has introduced new residencies with Daisy Rickman and Chewy She, showing us that they continue to have a stocked up roster of amazing artists coming within the next couple of months. We can’t wait to see what surprises they have in store for us in the future.
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