Squid played Paradise Rock Club – 2/14

U.K. art-punk experimentalists Squid returned to town on Valentine’s Day for a Paradise date with Water From Your Eyes.

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If you live in Boston and find that there’s something abstractly romantic about the yelp-y, dystopian groove of a band like Squid, boy did the tour scheduling overlords have a perfectly engineered Valentine’s Day for you.

Squarely in the sights of Cupid’s bow (I’ll stop) was the local date on the third U.S. tour for the English five-piece, supporting their excellent sophomore LP O Monolith. Following up 2021’s widely-acclaimed Bright Green Field, the new record retains the off-kilter urgency that first piqued many a listener’s interest while also exhibiting the patience for more prog-y, exploratory environs. The band brought a generous helping of both records to Wednesday’s gig, building tension and release into a setlist that also featured a handful of unreleased jams. Centered around beating heart drummer/vocalist Ollie Judge, the quintet sounded laser-focused and incredibly tight, with little in the way of visual flair or other accoutrement to get in the way. They didn’t need it of course; a band with the sort of hive-mind musical connectivity Squid possess are plenty riveting on their own.

Fast-rising openers Water From Your Eyes – who signed to indie giant Matador Records for last year’s Everyone’s Crushed – offered a more laid-back time vibes-wise, if not sonically. The duo (now expanded to a foursome on stage) cranked the volume with their irreverent, danceable post-punk-gaze, comfortably owning their buzz-band status. I look forward to their confounding of numerous dads with an appearance at Wilco’s Solid Sound fest in June.

Scroll below for a gallery of the evening.