I have to admit, I was pretty damn sceptical when I first heard that Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats were coming back with a new album. Nell’ Ora Blu was an interesting and ambitious record, but it took the band so far away from the filthy, fuzz-drenched sound I had fallen in love with that I wasn't quite sure what to expect this time around. So yeah, my expectations weren't exactly sky-high.
Luckily, Shapes Of Midnight didn't need more than a few songs to shut me up.
The guitars are back. The fuzz is back. The weirdness is back. And while Uncle Acid haven't simply turned the clock back to 2010, this album feels like a much-needed return to the dark, psychedelic world where this band simply works best.
Recorded live to analogue tape at Abbey Road Studios in just three days, Shapes Of Midnight sounds warm, raw and wonderfully dirty. Fuzz-soaked guitars, hypnotic bass lines, vintage keyboards and those unmistakable, slightly sinister vocals create a sound that feels like it has been dragged straight out of some forgotten 70s horror movie.
'House By The Grave' opens the record like a door to some abandoned mansion. Creeping atmosphere, bells, organ and a beautifully filthy riff eventually explode into a massive Sabbath-inspired section before disappearing into a wild psychedelic jam. The title track takes a more hypnotic route, with swirling keyboards and dreamy vocal harmonies floating above a heavy groove. Classic Uncle Acid territory, but with enough fresh ideas to keep it interesting.
'When Evil Wakes' slows things down and lets the psychedelic side take over. Bluesy guitars, Farfisa and a hypnotic rhythm create the feeling of wandering through a foggy forest at midnight, while 'Don’t Let It Control You' kicks things back up with one of those ridiculously catchy riffs that somehow get stuck in your head after a single spin.
'Psycho On The Loose' gets gloriously weird, throwing 80s-flavoured synths, fuzz, psychedelic rock and classic heavy metal into the same blender. 'I Won’t Sleep (’Til You’re Gone)' brings the 70s blues-rock vibe, while 'The Other Side Of The Sky' adds some delicious Thin Lizzy-inspired twin guitars.
And then there is 'Sleep No More'. Slow, eerie and deeply atmospheric, it closes the album like the final scene of a particularly fucked-up horror movie.
Shapes Of Midnight isn't perfect, and it doesn't reinvent Uncle Acid. But honestly? I don't think it needs to.
After the detour of Nell’ Ora Blu, this feels like the band rediscovering the ingredients that made them so damn addictive in the first place: fuzz, doom, psychedelia, occult atmosphere and melodies that refuse to leave your head.
I was skeptical.
I'm not anymore.
-Helge Neumann
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