Squid unveil the final taste of their forthcoming album with "The Blades"

The single is accompanied by a video directed by Kasper Häggström (Radiohead, Kelly Lee Owens) featuring rising British actress Charlotte Ritchie famed for her roles in Fresh Meat, Stath Lets Flats and Ghosts.

“The Blades” presents the dynamic range of singer Ollie Judge’s vocal delivery, a marked change across O Monolith. Judge credits it as his favourite Squid song thus far.

“It’s a lot more vulnerable than stuff we’ve previously done, which can be quite a daunting thing. Dan [Carey] and I were talking about vocal delivery and how it would be good to not completely let myself go, and not fall back on shouting because it’s more instantly gratifying. The end of the song is really soft and tender and I don’t think we’ve done something like that before," says Judge.

"On the surface it’s a song about police brutality with the last section kind of inspired by The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe, although I’ve never read the book, I’ve just seen The Simpsons’ spoof of it. Narratively it follows a police helicopter pilot's day, ending with him in bed hearing another pilot circling the skies as if he were taunting him. There’s a deeper meaning in there somewhere of my fear of ego, but I’m still working out which bit of the song that’s coming from.”

The single follows, "Undergrowth", and "Swing (In A Dream)".