UK art-rock quintet Squid have announced their follow-up to 2021’s critically celebrated debut album, Bright Green Field. Coming June 9, O Monolith is produced by the band’s longtime collaborator Dan Carey and is mixed by Tortoise’s John McEntire. Squid are also sharing a lead single, “Swing (In A Dream),” which has a video directed by Yoonah Park.
Squid began work on O Monolith while touring in support of Bright Green Field. “Without that tour we wouldn’t have any of these tracks,” says Ollie Judge. “People were so looking forward to seeing live music that we thought we could just play anything, even if it was unfinished. In some form or another we played about 80% of O Monolith, mostly without lyrics.” Eventually, they recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World studios in Wiltshire. Contributors include Martha Skye Murphy, who also worked on Bright Green Field’s “Narrator,” and Roger Bolton.
“There’s a running theme of the relation of people to the environment throughout,” adds Louis Borlase of O Monolith. “There are allusions to the world we became so immersed in, environmental emergency, the role of domesticity, and the displacement you feel when you’re away for a long time.”
Listen to and watch “Swing (Inside A Dream)” below.
TRACKLIST:
01 “Swing (In A Dream)”
02 “Devil’s Den”
03 “Siphon Song”
04 “Undergrowth”
05 “The Blades”
06 “After The Flash”
07 “Green Light”
08 “If You Had Seen The Bull’s Swimming Attempts You Would Have Stayed Away”
TOUR DATES:
05/05 – Wrexhman, WS @ Focus Wales
06/18 – Wicklow, IE @ Beyond The Pale
06/30 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter
07/02 – Lars, DE @ Fusion
07/21 – Hertfordshire, UK @ Standon Calling
07/22 – Oxfordshire, UK @ Truck Festival
08/16 – Portugal, ES @ Paredes De Coura
08/18 – Brecon, WS @ Green Man
09/02 – Vlieland, NL @ Into The Great Wide Open
10/13 – Bristol, UK @ SWX
10/14 – Bristol, UK @ SWX
10/16 – Birmingham, UK @ Town Hall
10/17 – Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy Leeds
10/19 – Manchester, UK @ New Century
10/21 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland Ballroom
10/22 – Newcastle, UK @ Boiler Shop
11/01 – London, UK @ Troxy
O Monolith will be out 6/9 via Warp Records.