Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats to Release Shapes of Midnight Sept. 18; Title-Track Streaming
Something tells me Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats are playing coy a bit when they use a phrase like, “recorded at Abbey Road with some old Neumanns and EMI equipment,” but maybe that’s just my brain thinking every piece of gear in that place must be legendary for one reason or another, if not made that way specifically by The Beatles. Wherever it was made, the streaming-now title-track of Shapes of Midnight — due Sept. 18 on the band’s own Killer Candy Records — bears the band’s signature grainy sound, warm and threatening all at once. It’s got a shuffle of a riff to follow on from the single “Don’t Let it Control” that was released earlier this year to herald their summer tour that finished earlier this month, and the album release will preface a UK run in November. See how everything ties together? Pro-shop.
Looking forward to digging into new Uncle Acid, both as they pivot back to more traditional songcraft following the successful imaginary soundtrack Nell’ Ora Blu (review here) in 2024 and just in general as a fan of the band. Their announcement was quick and dirty on socials (first paragraph below) and I paired it with their latest bio and tour dates, though if a proper for-the-LP press release comes in today I might replace all of it with that, so heads up to the absolutely no one who cares when I do that kind of thing [EDIT: Yes, I did, but I left the “recorded at…” there as well.
Good fun:
Uncle Acid – Shapes of Midnight – Sept. 18, 2026
WARNING: Our new album Shapes Of Midnight is out Sep 18. It was recorded at Abbey Road with some old Neumanns and EMI equipment. Listen on your telephones to the title track at our bandcamp (see bio). Vinyl pre order later today at killercandyrecords.com.
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Two years on from the mesmeric Nell’ Ora Blu, their synth-laden soundtrack for an imaginary Giallo movie, orphic Cambridge heavies Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats return with their seventh full-length, Shapes Of Midnight. A brilliantly macabre concept album partly inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s The Masque Of The Red Death and the too-real nightmares of our modern age, Shapes Of Midnight refines the group’s “Evil Beatles” sound: A thrilling, expertly composed fusion of eerie harmonies, pop hooks, Thin Lizzy-esque twin-guitar brilliance, and the kind of fleet-footed heaviness that’s become their trademark.
Shapes Of Midnight was tracked at Abbey Road Studios — live to analogue tape, natch — in a blessed, three-day blitz in the company of storied engineer Chris Bolster, whose previous clients include Phil Spector, Ozzy Osbourne, and Paul McCartney. The band employed era-appropriate tech, from antique Neumann mics once breathed upon by the Fabs and the Floyd, to consoles and compressors from the peak era of recorded sound. The mastering, meanwhile, was completed by Grammy-nominated engineer Noel Summerville (The White Stripes, The Clash, My Bloody Valentine).
The album marks a return to the guitar-forward attack of their earlier records, but also an evolution. Their blessed invocation of proto-metal heaviness is gilded by blasts of uncanny melancholic pop, bruising NWOBHM gallop, jazzy textures and complexities, and Krautrock-y cro-magnon synth damage. It’s a deliciously dark listen, for sure; as songwriter Kevin Starrs says, “Our albums exist in an alternate universe to our own. They’re all stories that could happen here, but everything’s just a bit ‘off.’”
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats spent their summer laying waste to festivals such as Sweden Rock, Hellfest, and Graspop and will tour North America, the UK, and Australia/New Zealand later this year. Further dates across Europe for next year to be announced soon.
SHAPES OF MIDNIGHT TRACKLISTING:
“House by the Grave”
“Shapes of Midnight”
“When Evil Wakes”
“Don’t Let It Control You”
“Psycho on the Loose”
“I Won’t Sleep (’til You’re Gone)”
“The Other Side of the Sky”
“Sleep No More”
UK DATES:
11/19 — Wolverhampton, UK — KK’s Steel Mill
11/20 — Manchester, UK — New Century Hall
11/21 — Glasgow, UK — The Garage
11/22 — Leeds, UK — Brudenell
11/24 — Bristol, UK — Trinity
11/25 — Southampton, UK — Engine Rooms
11/27 — Brighton, UK — Concorde 2
11/28 — Norwich, UK — Waterfront
11/29 — Nottingham, UK — Rescue Rooms
UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS ARE:
Kevin Starrs — Vocals/Lead Guitar
George Hudson — Rhythm Guitar/Vocals
Jus Smith — Bass
Jon Rice —Drums
Rachel Burnett — Keys/Vocals
https://www.uncleacidband.com
https://www.instagram.com/uncleacidband/
https://www.facebook.com/uncleacid/
