Squid have revealed details of their highly anticipated third studio album, Cowards, scheduled for release on February 7, 2025, via Warp Records. Following the success of their 2023 album O Monolith, Cowards marks a significant progression in the English art rock band’s sound, expanding their palette with influences ranging from folk and psychedelia to kosmische, jazz, and electronics. The nine tracks on the album explore the darker corners of human nature, with themes of moral ambiguity and apathy.
The album was recorded at Church Studios in Crouch End, London, with Mercury Prize-winning producer Marta Salogni and Grace Banks at the helm, alongside long-time collaborator Dan Carey, who has worked with the band on their previous two releases. Cowards also features contributions from an impressive array of musicians, including Danish experimental artist Clarissa Connelly, composer Tony Njoku, Pozi’s Rosa Brook, percussionist Zands Duggan, and the Ruisi Quartet, who contribute violin, viola, and cello to the album’s intricate arrangements.
In support of Cowards, Squid will embark on an extensive UK tour beginning in February 2025, with the first date in Liverpool on February 17. The band will perform across the UK in cities including Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, and Sheffield, before concluding the run with a highly anticipated show at London’s Roundhouse on April 26. Tickets for the tour are available now here, and fans can expect a live set featuring new material alongside fan favourites from Bright Green Field and O Monolith.
The album announcement follows a special one-off intimate show in New York City on November 12, where the band previewed several tracks from Cowards live for the first time. This included ‘Crispy Skin’, the album’s lead single, which has already been released in anticipation of the full album. Squid treated the packed crowd at DROM to a mix of new material, including the unreleased tracks Building 650 and Cro-Magnon Man, giving fans a glimpse into the darker, more experimental direction of Cowards.
Crispy Skin was released ahead of the album to introduce listeners to the dystopian themes that permeate Cowards. Lyrically inspired by Agustina Bazterrica’s novel Tender Is The Flesh, the track imagines a world where cannibalism is the societal norm. Lead singer Ollie Judge said to NME that ” the reality of having a moral-compass in dystopian stories of desperation and horror would be extremely difficult”. The single’s release was accompanied by a music video directed by Takashi Ito, which adapts his 1995 experimental short film Zone, distilling the unsettling tone of the song with stark, surreal imagery.
With Cowards, Squid continue the thematic exploration which has made their name, offering a more expansive and complex vision compared to their previous sound which incorporated crunchy krautrock guitar and David Byrne-inspired vocals. The record builds on the artistic risk-taking of O Monolith while venturing into new sonic territories, incorporating elements of avant-garde, jazz, and electronic music into their ever-evolving style. Pre-order here Cowards now, and catch Squid live across the UK early next year.
