Squid – The Hearth and Circle Round Fire

Squid aren’t here to make our life easy. “The Hearth and Circle Round Fire,” born during the Cowards sessions, started as a straightforward punk track, and naturally, the band decided that was far too boring. So they stretched it into a 15-minute jam, ripped it apart, and stitched it back together like some musical Frankenstein’s monster.

The final version is a scrappy, restless six-minute piece, riding a feverish rhythm and twitchy guitars that feel like they’re constantly arguing with themselves. Vocalist and drummer Ollie Judge uses the track to spin a dystopian yarn inspired by Fahrenheit 451 and They, imagining a world where censorship prevails and resistance is left to the stubborn few still willing to resist.