This week’s acts have toned down their idiosyncrasies as their careers have progressed. Nadia Reid has transitioned from a serious-minded singer-songwriter to warm pop songs. Squid’s music has become less edgy and experimental.
Nadia Reid
Enter Now Brightness
2025, 8/10
Dunedin singer-songwriter Nadia Reid was part of a wave of excellent New Zealand solo artists who arrived in the 2010s. I’ve also covered Tiny Ruins and Marlon Williams in this column. She started making dark, stripped-back records.
Reid recently told Rolling Stone, “I think for my first two records, I was really serious, heavy, angry and sad.” Motherhood has mellowed Reid out, although she still has her gorgeously rich voice and unique lyrical perspective.
You are a gothic sailor, baby
I see you in glory maybe
There was a chord of pure delightNo sign of retribution
Cry on Cue, Nadia Reid
No need for resolution
You are the light that leads me home
As the title indicates, Enter Now Brightness is much closer to a pop album than Reid’s earlier work. But the offbeat instrumentation adds personality, ‘Baby Bright’ is coloured by horns and stabs of choir. The piano ballad ‘Cry on Cue’ might be overly sentimental in the hands of a less interesting writer, but Reid’s vocal performance and unique lyrical perspective make it enticing.
‘Hotel Santa Cruz’ is a second-half highlight, poppy and upbeat by Reid’s standards. Happy material dominates the album, but fans of older, sadder Nadia will appreciate downbeat tunes like ‘Even Now’.
Reid’s convincing, whether she’s making sad music or happy music.
Squid
Cowards
2025, 7/10
Brighton art-rock band Squid started their career with the ambitious Bright Green Field. With exotic instrumentation and Krautrock-inspired grooves, it was intense and fascinating. On Cowards, their third album, they continue to tone down their approach.
On Cowards, Squid often recalls 1970s King Crimson. Their playing is abrasive and complex, and they use orchestral instruments like violins. Drummer Ollie Judge’s vocals are less extreme than before, sweetened with backing vocals. The songwriting isn’t strong enough to compensate for the less exotic sound.
In previous records, we’ve used loads of synths and crazy instruments that a lot of people haven’t heard of. This is the first record where we’ve not been obsessed with doing that. There’s a reason pianos and acoustic guitars are popular: They sound really good.
Ollie Judge, Bandcamp interview
The best tracks are often the most energetic. ‘Cro-Magnon Man’ is surprisingly funky, driven by a chunky bass groove. On ‘Showtime!’, Judge plays a sleazy showbiz figure, inspired by Andy Warhol. Meanwhile, ‘Fieldworks II’ sounds the closest to King Crimson with its violin and intricate guitars.
The apeggiating synths of ‘Crispy Skin get the record off to a great start, even if the rest of the track is less enticing. Clarissa Connelly, their Warp Records labelmate, joins them on the closing epic ‘Well Met (Fingers Through the Fence)’.
Cowards has its moments, but lacks excitement.
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Between you, Jeff (Eclectic Music) and me, we typically highlight different new releases, which I find nice since it exposes me to new music I otherwise wouldn’t have heard. While based on sampling a few tracks of each album Squid doesn’t speak to me, at least not initially, Nadia Reid sounds intriguing. I suppose her singer-songwriter approach is more up my alley. I also like her vocals. Based on your characterization of “Enter Now Brightness” being “much closer to a pop album than Reid’s earlier work”, I wonder whether I might like her earlier albums even better.
I really like Reid’s Preservation from 2017. ‘Richard’ is an amazing song. I guess I’m being parochial and supporting the local, but I think she’s one of the best singer-songwriters out there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV8HWGviyTA
I like the Nadia Reid cut. She is someone I will check out more. She sounds different than others.
She’s a really good singer – her mum is a jazz vocalist, and Reid has some of that too. Rich voice and interesting lyrical perspective..
I’ll keep a watch on her and check some more of her out. I’ve also listened to the Chills more…I really like them.