Leading into the June 9th release of Squid’s sophomore album, O Monolith, via Warp, the UK act release new single, “The Blades,” accompanied by a video directed by Kasper Häggström (Radiohead, Kelly Lee Owens, Lindstrøm) starring rising British actress Charlotte Ritchie (You, Fresh Meat, Ghosts).

Similarly to Squid, Häggström’s work blurs the lines between high-concept philosophies and the humdrum of domesticity. His video for “The Blades” sees its protagonist, played by Ritchie, locked in a Kafka-esque nightmare as she sits ludicrously at the back of an imaginary queue in an empty waiting room due to a mischievous child’s prank. The passage of time and cruel absurdity of the situation triggers an out of body experience and release before returning to her Sisyphean plight.

 “The Blades” presents the dynamic range of singer Ollie Judge’s vocal delivery, a marked change across O Monolith. Judge credits it as his favorite Squid song thus far. “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,” comments Judge. “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.”

Watch Squid’s “The Blades” Video

Produced by Dan Carey, mixed by John McEntire (Tortoise) and recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, O Monolith tackles themes and issues such as environmental peril, morality and English folklore. It is expansive, evocative and hugely varied, retaining Squid’s restless, enigmatic spirit, and a reflection of the outsized progression of a band always looking to the future. “We’re quite a musically stubborn band, and in an endearing way it’s a stubborn record,” says Judge. Like its namesake, O Monolith is vast and strange; alive with endless possible interpretations. For a deeper dive into the story behind O Monolith, head over to The Quietus.
 
Squid have recently announced an early 2024 North American headline tour and a series of intimate shows partnering with record shops in the UK around the release of O Monolith. Full dates are listed below and tickets are on sale now.

Squid Tour Dates
Sat. June 10 – Brighton, UK @ Resident – instore
Sun. June 11 – Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade – instore
Mon. June 12 – Totnes, UK @ The Barrel House – Drift Records outstore
Tue. June 13 – Sheffield, UK @ Foundry Studio – Bear Tree Records outstore
Thu. June 14 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club – Crash Records outstore
Thu. June 15 – London, UK @ Rough Trade East – instore (early & late)
Fri. June 16 – Sun. June 18 – Wicklow, IE @ Beyond The Pale
Fri. June 30 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter
Sun. July 2 – Lars, DE @ Fusion
Fri. July 21 – Hertfordshire, UK @ Standon Calling
Sat. July 22 – Oxfordshire, UK @ Truck Festival
Sat. Aug. 12 – Cornwall, UK @ Boardmasters
Wed. Aug. 16 – Portugal, ES @ Paredes De Coura
Fri. Aug. 18 – Brecon, WS @ Green Man
Fri. Aug. 24 – Torremolinos, ES @ Canela Party
Sat. Aug. 25 – La Tour-de-Peliz, CH @ Nox Orae
Sat. Sep. 2 – Vlieland, NL @ Into The Great Wide Open
Tue. Sep. 5 – Cologne, DE @ Katine
Wed. Sep. 6 – Esch-sur-Alzette, LU @ Rockhal
Thu. Sep. 7 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
Fri. Sep. 8 – Utecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg ROnda
Sat. Sep. 9 – Hamburg, DE @ Knust
Mon. Sep. 11 – Aarhus, DK @ Voxhall
Tue. Sep. 12 – Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
Wed. Sep. 13 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
Fri. Sep. 15 – Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz
Sat. Sep. 16 – Zurich, CH @ Mascotte
Sun. Sep. 17 – Tronto, IT @ Poplar Festival
Tue. Sep. 19 – Milan, IT @ Santeria
Thu. Sep. 21 – Barcelona, ES @ Sala Apollo 2
Fri. Sep. 22 – Valencia, ES @ Jerusalem
Sat. Sep. 23 – Madrid, ES @ Sala Copérnico
Sun. Sep. 24 – Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey
Mon. Sep. 25 – Paris, FR @ Elysée Montmartre
Wed. Sep. 27 – Rouen, FR @ Le 106
Fri. Oct. 13 – Bristol, UK @ SWX
Sat. Oct. 14 – Bristol, UK @ SWX
Mon. Oct. 16 – Birmingham, UK @ Town Hall
Tue. Oct. 17 – Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy Leeds
Thu. Oct. 19 – Manchester, UK @ New Century
Sat. Oct. 21 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland Ballroom
Sun. Oct. 22 – Newcastle, UK @ Boiler Shop
Wed. Nov. 1 – London, UK @ Troxy
Sat. Nov. 4 – Reykjavik, IS @ Iceland Airwaves
Fri. Feb. 2 – Austin, TX @ The Parish
Sat. Feb. 3 – Dallas, TX @ Dada
Mon. Feb. 5 – Nashville, TN @ Basement East
Tue. Feb. 6 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
Thu. Feb. 8 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Fri. Feb. 9 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Sat. Feb. 10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
Wed. Feb. 14 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
Thu. Feb. 15 – Montreal, QC @ SAT
Fri. Feb. 16 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
Sun. Feb. 18 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Mon. Feb. 19 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
Fri. Feb. 23 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
Sat. Feb. 24 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
Sun. Feb. 25 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Tue. Feb. 27 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
Thu. Feb. 29 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
Fri. March 1 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco