(CD/LP, Killer Candy Records, 2026)
UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS are back with the strongest album of their career.
Like some freight train roaring out of the early ‘70s, UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS embody the Psychedelic / Doom Rock aesthetic so completely that they seem to inhabit that era and transcend it at the same time. Their music is practically architectural: if you are not listening to it inside a dark venue, it will make you think of one. Better yet, it will make you wish you were standing in one, shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers, stale air circulating above your head and amplifiers growling in front of you. The Tony Iommi influence has always been there, of course, but looking at the band’s 16-year discography now, it feels almost subliminal; less imitation, more genetic memory. And I honestly cannot think of many other Psych Rock bands whose contribution to the modern underground is so undeniable (every physical release disappears in a matter of hours), while their overall stature still remains criminally underrated.
Album number seven.
If you’ve reached the point where you’re still following the British band’s doings after five studio albums and one glorious soundtrack-like detour, then it’s time to deal with the consequences. In 2026, happy endings are the kind of indulgence we can no longer afford. I know it, you know it, and apparently Kevin Starrs knows it too.
I’ve always loved the fact that every UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS album tells a story, but this time the story feels meaner. Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque Of The Red Death”, “Shapes Of Midnight” unfolds inside a small town populated by serfs, masters and grifters (according to the press release), while the ones pulling the strings have locked themselves away and left the outside world to rot. Death is creeping in, there’s no proper exit for anyone, and forget about moral balance waiting around the corner to save the underdog. The house wins. The plague gets in. The door stays locked. Tough luck.
So yeah, “Shapes Of Midnight” plunges both fists deep into the darkness, grabs us by the collar and drags us straight into that same chaotic hellscape. It is a beautifully ugly metaphor for now, and yet, with the record spinning on the turntable, somehow it still feels like “it’ll be OK.”
Album opener “House By The Grave” sounds like it could have been unearthed from the “Night Creeper” sessions, but there are plenty of nasty little surprises lurking underneath: bell chimes, a freer drumming part in the middle, and an epic guitar outburst around the five-minute mark that suddenly reminds you how deeply the NWOBHM still flows through this band’s bloodstream. Kevin’s voice fits the SABBATH-y riffage like a black suit at a funeral, but that sudden IRON MAIDEN-esque eruption? Fingerprints all over the crime scene. No spoilers.
The title track carries some of the narcotic haze of “Mind Control”, while riding an early ‘70s galloping riff that worms its way into your brain and refuses eviction. There are hints of MAIDEN, FOCUS, THIN LIZZY, and probably three other records you have not played in years but will suddenly feel compelled to pull from the shelf. The bass tone is delicious: thick, warm and alive. And that sense of something actually living inside the speakers is no accident.
Part of what creates this thick, breathing quality is the way the album was recorded. “Shapes Of Midnight” was put down on analogue tape at the infamous Abbey Road over three days with master engineer Chris Bolster, while everybody played live in the same room and the amps bled into the overhead drum mics. Old EMI consoles, Neumann microphones and Fairchild compressors were dragged back into service too, so there’s no antiseptic studio surgery here, no digital embalming, and no attempt to iron every wrinkle out of UNCLE ACID’s Rock ’N’ Roll. And you can hear it. But more importantly, you can feel it.
“When Evil Wakes” sounds like it escaped from a late ‘60s / early ‘70s chase movie, where everybody has bad intentions and nobody survives the final reel. As it develops, more layers begin peeling away: Hippie Rock residue, acoustic and electric guitars stacked against each other, droning fuzz, warped harmonies, and an almost cinematic unease hanging above everything. Somehow it all feels genuinely authentic rather than retro for retro’s sake.
(First single) “Don't Let It Control You” kicks the door off its hinges and lets the band’s ’70s Rock ’N’ Roll side loose. The single-note piano has pure STOOGES insolence, and the “oooh oooh” refrain sticks so effortlessly to the inside of your skull that following the song title’s advice becomes practically impossible. This is the kind of hook that feels stupidly effective and is built to be sung with one fist in the air. Pure Punk Rock mentality.
“Psycho On The Loose” takes a sharp turn into ‘80s territory, giving flesh and bones to what I’m now officially calling UNCLE ACID’s Terrorwave. Trademark pending. If the band ever decided to lean fully into a synth-darkness direction, this is what I imagine it would sound like. The refrain still keeps one boot firmly planted in old-school guitar Rock though, and I’m getting strong SURVIVOR vibes from those guitars. Meanwhile, Starrs’ voice feels like an ice-cold drop sliding down a tall glass on the hottest night of the year. And all this while “there’s a psycho on the loose and he’s watching us aaaall night.” The final guitar crescendo somehow brought “The Hunger” movie to mind. Don’t ask.
“I Won't Sleep ('Til You're Gone)” is possibly the most beautiful blend of THE BEATLES and THIN LIZZY we could have asked for, with a jazzy looseness underneath those twin-guitar harmonies and an almost sneering judgment in the lyrics. Again: no spoilers. Meanwhile, “The Other Side Of The Sky” drags more of that “Night Creeper” menace behind it. The narrating-style of the lyrics momentarily steals attention from the heavy guitars, especially in lines such as “there’s nobody coming home tonight as we hide under the floorboard lights in the shadows,” or “in that moment you’re condemned to die in the gallows.” Treachery, agony and surrender, all served with class.
Then, “Sleep No More” drops the curtain in a Bluesy, almost ZZ TOP-like crawl that clashes beautifully with Starrs’ hazy vocals. Instead of fighting that contradiction, the ear follows the guitar deeper. The solo around the 2:30 mark is finger-licking good, and thankfully the bass has not been buried somewhere behind the furniture; it leads the procession toward the “you sleep no more…” refrain before the album delivers the kind of ugly truth most of us think about these days but are either too numb, too exhausted, or too afraid to admit out loud. Even to ourselves.
It’s so unfair to label UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS as simply another post-SABBATH band, and on album number seven they prove exactly why. They have too much personality, too much studio know-how, and too much audacity to settle for imitation. Instead, they keep sneaking strange little surprises inside those sweet, ’70s-styled riffs while proudly wearing their British Rock influences without ever letting them swallow the band whole. And that takes nerve.
“Shapes Of Midnight” is also a reminder that Rock ‘N’ Roll has never been only about sound. It’s a mentality. It is making the record that fulfills your artistic vision whether or not it fits neatly into the market around you. It is dragging old analogue gear into Abbey Road, playing live in one room, letting microphones bleed, leaving human fingerprints all over the recording, and refusing to polish away every imperfection until the music sounds like it was assembled in a laboratory. That matters even more now, in an era where digital tools seem increasingly determined to strip modern music of its flaws, and, in the process, some of its humanity.
So yeah, UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS sound gloriously human here: raw yet cinematic, dangerous yet ridiculously catchy, and just unstable enough around the edges to keep the whole thing breathing. I can think of no more succinct proof of that than “Shapes Of Midnight”.
Enjoy it while you can. Midnight is already closing in.
10/10
Links:
www.UncleAcidBand.Com
www.FaceBook.Com/UncleAcid
www.Instagram.Com/UncleAcidBand
Tracklist:
01. House By The Grave
02. Shapes Of Midnight
03. When Evil Wakes
04. Don't Let It Control You
05. Psycho On The Loose
06. I Won't Sleep ('Til You're Gone)
07. The Other Side Of The Sky
08. Sleep No More
Lineup:
n/a