Anthony Meynell / Squire - SMASH - CD

SMASH was proposed as the Squire album to follow two very different records: the dayglo beat pop of Get Smart!, mixed at Ocean Way Studios in LA, and the monochrome power pop of September Gurls, recorded in London. But it was shelved, and remained unheard until now.

SMASH is a 15-track blast of frenetic sunshine psychedelia, filtered through two-minute songwriting, written between LA and London. Recorded on four-track in 1985, the original tape sessions have been restored and mixed for the first time in 2026, with nothing added that wasn't on the tape that day.

Side One is Rickenbacker twelve-string, from the first note to the last.

Side Two's nine tracks take you from blue-eyed soul through psychedelia to bubblegum pop.

"SQUIRE fashioned a string of perfect pop records that not only marked them out from their mod revival peers but presaged the jangly psychedelia of the Paisley Underground and the '80s college radio powerpop sound." — Shindig! #178, August 2026