Squid – Crispy Skin

Out today (November 12th), Squid hits us with “Crispy Skin”, and it’s a six-minute opener from their upcoming third album “Cowards” (dropping February 7th, 2025 via Warp) dives into some dark territory.

Singer/drummer Ollie Judge pulled inspiration from a dystopian novel called “Tender Is The Flesh”, where cannibalism becomes normal and humans are sold in supermarkets (yeah, pretty intense stuff). “I think when most people read books like these, they picture themselves as the sort of person that would take the moral high ground”, he says. “The track was written about how the reality of having a moral compass in these stories of desperation and horror would be extremely difficult”.

The track comes with a trippy video directed by Takashi Ito, adapted from his 1995 short film “Zone”. It’s about “a man without a face, bound with ropes in a white room”, mixing memories, nightmares, and some pretty wild visuals.

For their third album, they’ve brought in some serious talent – producers Marta Salogni (Bjork) and Grace Banks (black midi), plus longtime mate Dan Carey. They’ve even got the Ruisi Quartet doing strings and guest spots from Danish musician Clarissa Connelly and Tony Njoku. The whole thing was mixed by Tortoise’s John McEntire.

If you’re keen to catch them live a full European and UK tour kicking off in early 2025. Tickets drop November 20th.