Some bands need no introduction here at Permafuzz, and Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats are one of them. For over a decade, Kevin Starrs and his bandmates have been one of the most distinctive voices in heavy psychedelia — that lo-fi-polished fuzz, those ghostly harmonies, and a pervasive sense that something is lurking just outside the beam of light. Now they’re back with the title track «Shapes of Midnight», the first taste of an album due out on 18 September.

And what a concept that album has. «Shapes of Midnight» is the band’s seventh full-length album, released on Killer Candy Records, and this time it’s a full-blown concept album: a macabre piece inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s «The Masque of the Red Death», interwoven with a healthy dose of contemporary unease. Eight tracks, recorded live to analogue tape at Abbey Road Studios itself with Chris Bolster at the controls, and mastered by Grammy-nominated Noel Summerville. Everything is in place for this to be one of the band’s most accomplished works to date.

The title track itself suggests that Uncle Acid are returning to a guitar-driven sound, but without letting go of what makes them Uncle Acid. According to the band themselves, the album explores jazz-inspired passages, krautrock textures and a subtle pop sensibility — all filtered through their unmistakable dark psychedelia. Starrs has aptly summed up the band’s universe: «everything’s just a bit ‘off’». It is precisely that shaky, dreamlike unease that ensures Uncle Acid remain in a class of their own.

The fact that the band is British rather than Nordic shouldn’t stop us — this is one of the most relevant acts in the genre, and an obvious point of reference for countless Nordic bands we follow most closely. A new Uncle Acid release is an event worth noting, full stop.

For now, you can have a sneak listen to «Shapes of Midnight» on YouTube and Bandcamp. We’re really looking forward to hearing the rest when the album is released on 18 September.