PHOTOS: Squid – O2 Ritz, Manchester – 18/02/2025

It’s funny—for all the discourse around post-punk fatigue, there’s not been that much a slowdown in its wake. Take Squid, for instance, who came through during one of the narrative’s many heights, yet have just released their third album Cowards to the usual acclaim and are on an admirably-sized UK tour to promote it. Now, to be fair, the ‘Windmill scene’ that Squid have found themselves apart of has more deftly dodged some of the harsher barbs. It’s likely because they—alongside peers like Black Country, New Road and black midi—are ‘post-punk’ only through a far more rigid case of taxonomy. They’re more experimental and in touch with noise-rock, though with the usual sardonic wit that’s made them more liable to continue crossing over. It’s clearly still going as planned; the Ritz is a decently big venue for a band this thorny to plant their flag in. So, with all of that, our photographer Ben Whitehurst headed over to catch the next level in Squid’s growth.

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Photos by Ben Whitehurst (Instagram)