If ever an album title felt unfitting of its progenitors, then absolutely it’s UK band Squid’s third album Cowards. The Brighton jazz-art-rock hybrid have equally confounded and captivated listeners and critics with their complicated, jagged explorations in style.

Ollie Choose, lead singer and drummer is joined by guitarists Louis Borlase and Anton Pearson, bassist Laurie Nankivell and multi-instrumentalist Arthur Leadbetter. Borlase and Pearson joined Guitar.com on the distinctly un-rock ’n’ roll hour of 9am to speak about their new full-length: “It’s high quality,” shrugs Pearson, “we’re not a rock ’n’ roll band, anyway.”

Understandably, Cowards shouldn’t be a self-referential title. Relatively, the 9 tracks are self-contained tales about charismatic, sociopathic, dictatorial characters with malicious intents (the world shouldn’t be wanting appropriate case research for that character sort proper now). Lead single Crispy Pores and skin takes inspiration from the futuristic novel Tender Is The Flesh, wherein people eat each other, even buying human flesh from grocery store cabinets.

“We’re not attempting to be actually, explicitly political,” Pearson explains from his Brighton dwelling. “I feel we’re extra serious about exploring completely different characters, moods and environments. We by no means would have a extremely particular, coherent, clear political message. It’s probably not how we work. Every little thing’s a bit extra indirect with us, and complicated, and we’re nonetheless attempting to grasp all of it. As a result of every part comes from the 5 of us equally, so we’re probably not serious about every part having a very uniform message between us. We really feel like our strongest work comes when issues come naturally from the 5 of us in a complicated manner. So we’ve stored up with that.”

Collaboration Is Key

Cowards is a speedy follow-up to O Monolith, which was launched in February final 12 months, and the band’s debut Shiny Inexperienced Subject in 2021. Clearly they’re a band that has no real interest in ready round, however they’re additionally one which welcomes exterior collaboration into their aforementioned complicated inventive course of. So Cowards sees a various solid of company together with Danish experimental songsmith Clarissa Connelly, composer, pianist and singer Tony Njoku, Rosa Brook from punk group Pozi, percussionist Zands Duggan, and Johnny Greenwood collaborators the Ruisi Quartet.

Regardless of this assorted solid of collaborators on board, the method for making the report didn’t push the band outdoors of what they had been used to.

“Nothing felt significantly, deliberately completely different,” Pearson admits. “I feel we had been fairly pleased with how the music constructions and preparations had been feeling after we began recording. However, with us there’s all the time lots left as much as probability within the studio, whether or not that’s for ourselves or for the extra musicians that we need to write elements for.

“I feel we had been feeling essentially the most assured that we’ve ever felt with the writing of those songs. Numerous that got here from being pleased with the house and silence between notes and between elements, and one another, and we didn’t need to wreck that by overcomplicating issues. So, it was the primary time the place we discovered ourselves with some actually, tremendous delicate moments.”

The method this time, as all the time, relied on prolonged durations of communal jamming and drawing out concepts, variations, and particulars over weeks and months that enable “the most effective bits to stay round”, explains Borlase.

“One great point was, Arthur [Leadbetter] is taking part in numerous cello on this album. There was a specific pedal that we’ve by no means actually tried with cello earlier than, and it sounded so characterful. We tried that after on the finish of Cro-Magnon Man and, by the top of the album, we replicated that type of method throughout varied completely different songs. It’s a extremely characterful, fairly unusual, warbly sound that you may hear throughout Cowards quite a bit.”

Consolation In Sound

With Cowards being their third go-round, and with the band having honed their expertise each on stage and within the studio, Borlase additionally felt that the dynamic of the band has change into extra relaxed as their confidence of their skills grew – a vibe enhanced by a swap in producer.

“We had been pleased with the 2 albums that we’ve finished,” he explains. “We all know we’ve managed to do fairly various things with each of them. We thought we’d gotten higher as musicians and instrumentalists and all that type of stuff. So, the entire vibe within the studio was very completely different, as a result of we did the monitoring with [producer] Marta Salogni [and Grace Banks] slightly than Dan Carey this time. And so they’re each superb producers, however they simply have a very completely different method to recording.

“Dan likes issues to be fairly tense, and he likes to type of create that sense of urgency. The primary album, we did it in his studio, which is a extremely small room, and we did it within the warmth of summer season. We didn’t take lunch breaks and issues like that. And it was all about ‘We have to get this report completed!’, and we’re all delirious and scorching, and so there was numerous stress in a extremely great way. We had been all specializing in the artwork in a extremely intense manner. After which this recording course of couldn’t be extra completely different, actually.

“Marta is all about making you are feeling fairly relaxed, so we’d take little journeys to the bakery, you understand? I imply, it was like a very completely different vibe. Dan additionally ended up engaged on this report too, type of individually. So there’s nonetheless a few of Dan in it, which is nice, as we’re very connected to him as a inventive relationship. We’ve obtained good bits of each of them, so we’re very fortunate.”

Devoted Mates

As a lefty, Borlase has discovered to depend on a trusted solid of characters for his guitar sounds, together with a Martin 000-15 for the acoustic elements, and his Burns Marquee (strung in Nashville tuning) for songs equivalent to Cowards and Fieldworks I and II. When issues get a bit extra riffy he turned to his USA Telecaster or his Japanese Jazzmaster on singles like Showtime and the country-gothic-tinged Nicely Met.

An occasional completely different vibe was added by his Gretsch Electromatic Duo-Jet, which appeared when he wanted so as to add some grit. “I used it fairly selectively,” Borlase explains. “It’s a dirty-sounding guitar. I’d by no means actually labored with a twin humbucker, chunky-sounding, short-scale guitar like that. It was used for moments of depth, and I primarily used it for overdubs within the second half of Fieldworks, the place it’s nice for these huge, stacked slabs. By way of clear stuff on Fieldworks, we did attempt utilizing the Gretsch, however we realised it made extra sense to listen to the [original] guitar elements on harpsichord.”

Pedals had been additionally an unsurprisingly huge function, with Borlase leaning on his trusty Line 6 DL4, Large Muff Pi and Hudson Broadcast… plus some extra esoteric gamers within the form of the Dr Scientist Bitquest, Alexander Syntax Error, Arion Stereo Refrain, and Keeley Synth 1.

Pearson however borrowed a Nineteen Seventies Fender Stratocaster for the recording, but additionally introduced his personal Fender Telecaster – which is modded with McNelly T-bar pickups – and a Religion Jupiter acoustic. His pedals included a modified Whammy pedal made by a good friend, EQD’s Pyramids and Avalanche Run, a Dwarfcraft Wizard of Pitch, one in every of EHX’s new Pico POGs and even an ultra-cheap Muzizy Fuzz pedal.

“I used my Religion Jupiter that I’ve had for a very long time,” Pearson displays on his major acoustic. “Really, I’ve had that from once I was an adolescent. I feel it’s a pleasant guitar for not an enormous funds. It’s obtained a very nice high finish, so it may minimize by way of in a band setting fairly effectively. I’ve finished little bits of delicate layering of acoustic guitar issues previously with Squid, however that is the primary time that it’s had a outstanding function. And it’s gonna be the primary time I’m utilizing acoustic guitar stay with Squid, which I’m fairly enthusiastic about. That’s simply gonna be a pleasant, new change for me.”

For the amps, issues had been suitably eccentric with a classic WEM Westminster pairing with a 1967 Selmer Treble & Bass and a Fender silver-panel Vibrolux.

Stay And Kicking

The take a look at of any crop of recent songs is how they pan out once you carry them to a stay setting – the band are clearly enthusiastic about testing out Cowards on this unforgiving surroundings.

“In rehearsals, it was the primary time we’ve been desirous about songs and the way they’re gonna really feel after we play them stay,” says Pearson “I get essentially the most enthusiastic about songs that really feel they’ll be essentially the most stunning to an viewers, and one thing completely different to the set that we haven’t explored earlier than. Some moments that shall be superb stay embrace the break in Cowards the place all of us cease and Arthur performs the harpsichord, giving an organ sort of sound. I feel that shall be a tremendous second. I’m excited for Nicely Met, too. That shall be enjoyable to play stay.”

“I’m actually enthusiastic about Blood on the Boulders,” provides Borlase. “It’s one of many solely songs that hasn’t actually been performed in some iteration stay. Numerous the songs on this album we’ve performed variations of alongside the way in which – so individuals have been good at piecing collectively which songs are which!”

Cowards is out 7 February