Squid Live Are Nothing But Captivating

Debuting their newest record ‘Cowards’ live, on the first show of their UK tour, Squid couldn’t help but bring the energy for Liverpool’s Invisible Wind Factory. The five-piece post-punk group from Brighton created an immersive space, where looking away for just a second would’ve felt like missing out. 

Supporting Squid was art-pop Goddess Martha Skye Murphy. Showcasing her debut album ‘Um’, Martha Skye Murphy built the atmosphere and held audience attention before Squid headlined. Having featured on Squid’s debut album track ‘Narrator’, Martha and Squid’s creativity goes hand in hand. Her icy cold persona was received with total warmth by the crowd. 

Squid’s latest album ‘Cowards’, released in February of this year, earned complete bragging rights - being both critically esteemed as well as quickly becoming a fan favourite too. ‘Cowards’ represents acknowledging society’s discrepancies and evils, all which bubble under the surface while we stay complacent. Just like their latest album, the live experience of this tour is filled with intentional moments of unease, brimming to points of explosion, and an eventual return to calm (or what seemed to be calm). Their emergence, categorised by being striking and experimental, has lead them to being one of the biggest British post-punk bands of the current age.

With a backdrop on stage stating ‘We Are Friends’ Squid showed their camaraderie and commitment to fans from the get-go. The setlist confidently wavered through Squid’s eras, with staples like ‘G.S.K’ from their debut album, ‘The Blades’ of 2023’s ‘O Monolith’, to popular fan favourites from their most recent record like ‘Crispy Skin’ and ‘Building 650’. No stone was left unturned in Squid’s appeasing of the audience. Combining a mesh of beloved tracks from all three of their albums makes for a fluid live journey through Squid’s history and discography. 

At times, the crowd was in a state of total silence. As a five-piece group of friends playing brass, guitar, keys, percussion and bass at peak performance, often all the audience was capable of was being in quiet awe. Drummer and lead singer Ollie Judge’s performance was a focal point. Judge managed to capture such wide scale emotion in his voice for over an hour, all while drumming. 

Keeping it honest and open with the audience for their first show of the UK tour, Judge joked that Squid had no funny material yet to practice on stage. Though said like a problem, the music spoke for itself. Perhaps more commonly known for being more noise-rock and chaos, Squid’s live performance shines a light on the vulnerability and rawness to their lyrics, particularly those on their latest album.

When fans weren’t glued to the visual performance, they moshed. Squid’s energy kept the crowd attentive and absorbed, and up and dancing when the sound grew harder. Squid were the puppet masters in Liverpool for the night. And by the performance’s end, the crowd were still greedy for more.

Zuzu Lacey

Image: Harrison Fishman

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