O Monolith - Squid: Review
Squid
are a UK post-punk act who broke out a few years ago alongside contemporaries like Black Midi, Black Country, New Road, and Shame. O Monolith is the band's second album following their 2021 debut and sees them expanding the influences and style of their sound significantly.
I enjoyed Squid's debut album quite a bit. It came out in a year that was absolutely STACKED with great post-punk most of which I liked a lot. While Squid may not have been my absolute favorite of the bunch, I think they bring a punky freneticism that their contemporaries often stray away from. Fittingly enough on this record, despite their willingness to wander in different compositional directions my favorite moments remain those peaks of raw intensity.
I liked the lead single Swing (In A Dream) a lot and it's still one of my favorite tracks here. The extremely catchy vocal refrains and creative little instrumental additions and flourishes add up to a wonderful song. It serves as a great opener to the album. The other major highlight is Green Light which isn't a cover of Lorde's Green Light even though I wanted it to be. Regardless, it has blistering distorted riffs on the hook and the revolving chaos throughout that I really enjoy. It reaches an absolutely invigorating climax that's one of the best points on the entire album.
Third single The Blades features more glittery chimes worked into the instrumental that contrasts perfectly with its harshest moments. Once again the band delivers a fantastic shouted hook, something they've always been great at. Like many of the other songs here, the final minute is completely irresistible. I also like the closing track quite a bit. It's Don Cabellero-ass title is If You Had Seen The Bull's Swimming Attempts Have Stayed Away. While some of the group vocals are as goofy as the name it's a great song. the clanky metallic percussion and horns add a lot despite how subtle they are. I love how unsettled the song is even as the instrumental develops in a way that you might assume is predictable the track always has something new up its sleeve.
The other half of the record I haven't talked about yet certainly isn't bad. But the band does often wander to different musical styles and along the way, it isn't always perfect. The first taste of that was on the single Undergrowth whose first half sounds more nu metal than post-punk. I think the style is a REALLY strange fit for the band which is a bit of a shame because the second half is really good. The slimy delivery of the lyrics about things hidden in the undergrowth is very compelling and I wish the song just got there quicker. Devil's Den is the opposite. The more reserved vocal performance is very much a change of pace as are the strings in the instrumental. The whole composition feels like something Black Country, New Road would do but make it go on for 5 minutes longer. Though I'm not sure the eventual payoff is worth every bit of the build-up it's an exciting moment nonetheless.
Siphon Song is another track that opens pretty reserved. It also features something I never expected to hear on a Squid song, Daft Punky vocal effects. The song is okay and I like the dense, sludgy chaos of its conclusion but I think I would have liked it a lot more in the band's conventional style. The only song on the record I just don't like is After The Flash. It's a shame because I like the lyrics a lot and the way they're delivered is very compelling but the instrumental is just too tedious and ineffective.
O Monolith is by no means a sophomore slump for Squid. On top of expanding their sound into new directions, they also maintain the energy and intensity that made them so fun in the first place. While I can't say I find this record as consistently exciting as its predecessor it certainly delivers more variety. Squid has a million different directions they could go in next and if this record serves as a launch point for the further development of their style then it did its job perfectly. The fact that's its pretty enjoyable on its own would just be icing on the cake. 7/10
