Squid’s new album, Cowards, deals with evil. Nine stories whose protagonists confront cults, charisma, and apathy. Real and imagined characters navigating the dark ocean between good and evil. Cowards is Squid’s boldest album: it broadens their horizons while returning to the essentials. The band recorded Cowards at Church Studios in Crouch End with Mercury Prize-winning producers Marta Salogni and Grace Banks. Additional production comes from their longtime collaborator Dan Carey, who recorded their first two albums. The mixing was done in Seattle by John McEntire (Tortoise, The Sea & Cake...) before being finalized through the rich analog chain of Heba Kadry’s mastering in Brooklyn, New York. Since their beginnings in 2016 as an instrumental jazz band for a monthly night in Brighton, Squid have come a long way. Their debut album, Bright Green Field (2021), was released as the world was beginning to open up after the pandemic, reaching the UK top 5 charts. In 2023, they released their second album, the dark O Monolith, which took them around the world and allowed them to explore new territory that seemed unthinkable just a few years earlier.