Brighton based post-punks return with their third album.

This album races out of the gates strongly with two top quality tracks. ‘Crispy Skin’ builds cleverly out of twinkly synths, piano, vocals and bass before halfway through switching gears and bringing in the main guitars, drums and distorted brass. Single ‘Building 650’ has a truly memorable guitar groove and hook that will haunt your brain for days.

You could spend a long while picking through the tracks trying to decipher the lyrical content. Squid clearly read widely, and a number of novels seem to have influenced the tone and feel of this album. There is darkness here, but it never overwhelms or gets in the way of a good tune.

‘Blood on the Boulders’ is quite incredible, probably the darkest track but constructed musically with detail upon detail. This is smart, intelligent but challenging music. A proper listen. Most recent single ‘Cro-Magnon Man’ isn’t quite as compelling as the first two releases but is still excellent in its own right.

I love a complex, challenging listen and this new album from Squid demands your attention and numerous relistens. I suspect this will be right up there when considering the albums of the year. Highly recommended.