Watch Squid’s Charlotte Ritchie-starring video for new song ‘The Blades’

Squid have shared a brand new song and video – check out the Charlotte Ritchie-starring visual for ‘The Blades’ below.

The track is the latest preview to be taken from the band’s upcoming second LP ‘O Monolith’, which is due out on June 9 via Warp.

Of the new song, drummer/vocalist Ollie Judge said: “It’s a lot more vulnerable than stuff we’ve previously done, which can be quite a daunting thing. Dan [Carey] and I were talking about vocal delivery and how it would be good to not completely let myself go, and not fall back on shouting because it’s more instantly gratifying. The end of the song is really soft and tender and I don’t think we’ve done something like that before.

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“On the surface it’s a song about police brutality with the last section kind of inspired by The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe, although I’ve never read the book, I’ve just seen The Simpsons’ spoof of it. Narratively it follows a police helicopter pilot’s day, ending with him in bed hearing another pilot circling the skies as if he were taunting him. There’s a deeper meaning in there somewhere of my fear of ego, but I’m still working out which bit of the song that’s coming from.”

Check out the new video below.

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So far, the album has been previewed by singles ‘Swing (In A Dream)’ and ‘Undergrowth’, and Judge recently told NME of what to expect of the follow-up to 2021 debut ‘Bright Green Field’.

“We’re leaning a lot more into experimental song structures,” he continued. “When I was having a really hard time writing lyrics and the album, I saw this tweet from Missy Elliot saying ‘Don’t make a second album that sounds like your first – just go fucking nuts’” he said. “It’s definitely harder to play live.”

The band are set to head out on a UK and Ireland headline tour later this year, with tickets available here.

Squid will play:

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OCTOBER 2023
13 – Bristol, SWX
14 – Bristol SWX
16 – Birmingham, Town Hall
17 – Leeds, O2 Academy
18 – Manchester, New Century
21 – Glasgow, Barrowland Ballroom
22 – Newcastle, Boiler Shop

NOVEMBER 2023
1 – London, Troxy