Squid are riding high off the release of their acclaimed debut album Bright Green Field back in May, and they’ll be riding that high over to the States for their first ever US tour – which happens to be sold out – starting next week. As a celebration of this, the band have shared a cover of “America!” by one of their heroes, Bill Callahan.
Singing drummer Ollie Judge says: “Earlier in the year we went to Otterhead Studios in the midlands to do some recording as we emerged from lockdown 2.0. We decided to cover some of our favourite tunes and one of them was ‘America!’ by Bill Callahan. We didn’t think that this cover would see the light of day, but we wanted to release something special just in time for us heading over to tour the USA.”
While Squid’s “America!” stays fairly faithful to the original, it’s certainly imbued with their own style. The early verses are not quite as fluid as Callahan’s, instead they lurch and limp nicely alongside Judge’s more wide-eyed vocal delivery. It’s all a big build up to the final drop, which Squid do in their customary fashion, full of sonic fireworks and full-throated singing.
Take a listen to Squid’s “America!” below or on streaming platforms.
You can find Squid on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Their upcoming dates are:
Tue. Nov. 9 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s – SOLD OUT
Wed. Nov. 10 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge – SOLD OUT
Thu. Nov. 11 – Brooklyn NY, @ Baby’s All Right – SOLD OUT
Fri. Nov. 12 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern – SOLD OUT
Sat. Nov. 13 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle – SOLD OUT
Sun. Nov. 14 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle – SOLD OUT
Tue. Nov. 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge – SOLD OUT
Wed. Nov. 17 – Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge – SOLD OUT
Fri. Nov. 19 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room – SOLD OUT
Sat. Nov. 20 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop – SOLD OUT
Mon. Nov. 22 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir – SOLD OUT
Tue. Nov. 23 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile – SOLD OUT
Sat. Nov. 27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Substance
Wed. Jan. 26 – Belfast, UK @ Empire Music Hall
Thu. Jan 27 – Galway, IE @ Roisin Dubh
Fri. Jan. 28 – Cork, IE @ Cyprus Avenue
Sun. Jan. 30 – Dublin, IE @ The Button Factory
Mon. Jan. 31 – Dublin, IE @ The Button Factory
Sat. March 26 – Bristol, UK @ Ritual Union Bristol
Sun. June 5 – Sun. June 12 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
Fri. Aug. 5 – Sun. Aug. 7 – Katowice, PL @ OFF Festival
Wed. Aug. 17 – Sat. Aug. 20 – Paredes de Coura, PT @ Paredes de Coura Festival
