Review of 'Cowards' by Squid

Squid deliver more squirming art rock tunes – this time with more grisly subject matter.

Self-described as a ‘book of dark fairy tales’ by frontman Ollie Judge, Cowards is an album all about evil. Opener ‘Crispy Skin’ is set in a world where cannibalism has become normalised. ‘Blood on the Boulders’ is a song about our addiction to true crime and immortalisation of serial killers. And ‘Showtime’ is all about the narcissism and manipulation that comes with fame. All joyous stuff. 

Many of themes unfortunately feel very relevant in 2025 – sometimes unintentionally. There are some lines in ‘Blood On The Boulders’ that I thought were references to the California wildfires – ‘all the houses in this country are built like shit’ and ‘no thought for wildfire’ – but this album was written and recorded almost two years ago. ‘Showtime’ meanwhile perfectly encapsulates Kanye’s recent breakdown while also being a good character portrait of Elon Musk. Let’s just hope ‘Crispy Skin’ doesn’t become relevant by the end of the year!

The evil subject matter suits Squid’s unhinged instrumentation very well, which continues to be just as impressively complex and creatively weird. Some of my favourite moments on this album include the dramatic strings of ‘Building 650’, the ghostly vocal harmonies and dissonant pulsing bass riff of ‘Cro-Magnon Man’, and the slow tense build-up of ‘Well Met (Fingers Through The Fence)’. It feels like Squid have firmly established their sound at this point. Some parts still remind me of Radiohead, but for the most part the influence seems to be coming from within. Squid sound like Squid.

I do fear we’ll never get another song as good as ‘Narrator’ from Squid again. Although the skronky grooves and jittery melodies do become addictive on repeat listens, none of these songs stick immediately. I also kept waiting for one of these songs to deliver a big climax, but instead many of these tracks build and fizzle out. Nonetheless, this is still a great rock album that feels more conceptual and distinctive than previous Squid records.

★★★★☆

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