Squid – “Paddling”

Holly Whitaker

Squid – “Paddling”

Holly Whitaker

Back in January, Squid announced their debut album Bright Green Field. At the time, they also shared a sprawling, intense lead single called “Narrator.” (It ranked amongst our favorite songs that week.) Today, they’re back with another one.

Squid’s latest is called “Paddling.” Already popular among fans who’ve seen Squid play it live, “Paddling” is a song inspired by the passage of life when people are entering adulthood and first grappling with the adjustment of work life. Here’s what the band had to say about it:

Written from two different perspectives, “Paddling” is a song about the dichotomy between simple pleasures and decadent consumerism. Recounting a familiar scene from The Wind In The Willows, the song reminds us that although we are humans, we are ultimately animals that are driven by both modern and primal instincts, leading to vanity and machismo around us in the everyday.

“Paddling” is one of those Squid songs that works its way through cerebral, perhaps discomfiting sections before bursting into something catchier and cathartic. Check it out below.

Bright Green Field is out 5/7 via Warp. Pre-order it here.

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