English experimental rock band Squid have announced a tour of North America, following the release of the single “Undergrowth” yesterday. The track is off the group’s second album, O Monolith, which is scheduled to be released on June 9th on Warp Records.
The tour will see Squid travel to North America for the fourth time following visits in November 2021, March 2022 and September 2022, and will commence in Austin, Texas on February 2nd 2024 and will conclude in Los Angeles, California on March 1st. The tour will be the first time Squid have the chance to showcase live performances of tracks from O Monolith for their American and Canadian fans.
North America we’re coming back. Tickets on sale Friday at 10am: https://t.co/OqnuoPfCSZ pic.twitter.com/uwiuTHqnXu
— Squid (@squidbanduk) April 18, 2023
The highly anticipated new album has already been performed live in the UK (see below) and will see a continuation of Squid’s experimentation with a multitude of differing rock genres. Speaking to NME, Ollie Judge, the group’s lead singer and drummer, states that the band have been “leaning a lot more into experimental song structures“, further adding that the album is “quite proggy – for better or worse“.
See O Monolith being performed live below:
Judging from their latest release, “Undergrowth“, “quite proggy” seems quite the understatement. An initial simple drumbeat and bassline is interrupted by a funky guitar section before Judge begins with his abstract lyrics, his vocals seemingly Hugh Cornwell-esque as we get into the chorus. The bassline returns along with the introduction of the brass and keyboards, and then returns the funk-rock of the guitars, and, slightly further on, a Black Midi-esque noise-rock section encapsulates us. All this and we are halfway through the six minute thirty five seconds song.
Watch the music video for “Undergrowth” below:
O Monolith will therefore be an expression of experimentation, blending together post-punk, art-rock, funk-rock and prog-rock to create an immaculate example of artistic brilliance.
Squid were formed in Brighton in 2016, releasing their first EP, Town Centre, in 2019 and their debut album, Bright Green Field, in 2021, the latter of which receiving widespread critical acclaim and reaching number four on the UK Albums Chart. The group consists of Ollie Judge on lead vocals and drums, Louis Borlase and Anton Pearson on both guitar and bass guitar, Arthur Leadbetter on keyboards and strings and Laurie Nankivell on brass.
Pre-order O Monolith now here.
See below for North American tour dates:
02/02/2024 – The Parish – Austin
03/02 – Dada – Dallas
05/02 – The Basement East – Nashville
06/02 – Terminal West – Atlanta
08/06 – 9.30 Club – Washington
09/02 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia
10/02 – Brooklyn Steel – Brooklyn
14/02 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston
15/02 – Sat – Montreal
16/02 – Phoenix Concert Theatre – Toronto
18/02 – Thalia Hall – Chicago
19/02 – Fine Line – Minneapolis
23/02 – Revolution Hall – Portland
24/02 – Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver
25/02 – The Crocodile Showroom – Seattle
27/02 – Regency Ballroom – San Francisco
29/02 – The Observatory OC – Santa Ana
01/03 – The Belasco – Los Angeles
Buy tour tickets here.
