Bright Green Field (studio album) by Squid (2020s)

This record demonstrates so much potential in this group and I am very excited to see future projects that will be released. They have all the right mix of what it takes to create a phenomenal album but this one just comes up a little short. The instrumentation is rich, diverse and feels interesting and engaging to listen to. The guitars and percussion are consistently fantastic, and they make each song sound unique due to their different performances from track to track. The keyboards, trumpet and trombone then add this extra flare and layering to the sound which makes it feel so grand but also grounded in its rock roots. This makes for an extremely enjoyable listen instrumentally due to its complexity and individuality. Vocally, it is solid and feels like a classic sort of punk vocal which does bring an edge to the music and he delivers the lyrics very effectively. Where the album struggles for me is the elongating of several songs which could be reduced by quite a bit. An example of this is Boy Racers which I would argue is the weakest track on here and it could really do with cutting down. There are also a few other tracks that feel like filler content as well. Despite this, there are some absolutely stunning songs on here which make the slower songs seem worth it just as a build up to these big tracks. Overall, based on this album this group has a brilliant future ahead of them and I really do believe they can go on to create a record that is amongst the best of the best but this one isn't quite up there in my opinion.

From Jboy56 04/05/2022 10:21

What does this band try to say, I do not understand

“Bright Green Field” is maniac tangent heavy album. Obscure topics will be pursued with incredible vigor. The song structure is consistently surprising. Verse chorus Verse will be broken down into long noisy interludes or soft quiet passages. My main gripe with the album is the vocals. Judge’s singing comes off in this flat strained manner. In addition, he will break into these yells to try and bring more emotion to the song. They are ill timed and feel unearned while bringing additional attention his voices flatness. Squid has great energy, they just need to balance it better.

What a debut, expecting bigger things from this band in the future, fresh post-punk

From VictorVale 02/18/2022 12:45

Grande álbum! Que peso!!

the Hard rock talking heads?

Best rock album of the year!

Very good debut album from this Brighton, East Sussex band, with influences from jazz and 70s German bands (such as Can and Neu!). Excited to see how they progress their sound with the next few albums

2021 (especially the first half) has been absolutely amazing for the world of post punk, honestly it’s the only genre that had anything exciting going on during that time. Bright Green Field is a truly an experience. The vocals are ear grabbing and the instrumentation is lush and full of variety. The themes in the songwriting make this for a very rewarding listen as you dive more and more into the meaning which isn’t very apparent upon first (or even second and third) listen.
My issues here are that most of the songs last a little longer than they should. The long instrumentals sprinkled in randomly through this album mess with the flow of the project. Not that they’re not good but they overstay their welcome. Some tracks feel out of place compared to the other heavy hitters. Songs like Paddling, Peel St., and The Flyover feel like the were b-tracks shoved in to make a decent run time.
Overall a very enjoyable and rewarding listen, one of my favorite albums so far this year.
Best tracks: GSK, Global Groove, Documentary Filmmaker, Narrator, Boy Racers, and Pamphlets (I just couldn’t narrow it down more) 8.5/10

From mdbaxter 08/09/2021 16:06

Interesting but a bit self-indulgent. Most of the songs are longer than they need to be I think. I don't think the extended jams add all that much to them. The riffs that they play around with are entertaining and the vocals are impressive but I wonder how long the lead singer can maintain that voice.