Manchester’s iconic postpunk outfit Inca Babies presents “Two Rails To Nowhere”, a reimagined offering from their ‘Reincarnation’ album. The collection gathers back catalogue classics, re-recorded, re-invented and re-Inca-rnated. The A-side and B-side version released on Spotify includes the original from 1988, which features Clint Boon of the Inspiral Carpets. Led by Harry Stafford, Inca Babies were a vibrant part of Britain’s early postpunk and death rock scene, amassing a steady following through five intensive years of touring, six singles and four albums that all entered the UK Indie Charts. After four sessions for BBC’s John Peel show between 1984 and 1988, the band called it quits before reforming in 2007.
“This was from our fourth album ‘Evil Hour’. On the original version, we managed to hire Clint Boon of the Inspiral Carpets to play Hammond organ for us. This is a song that was inspired by the trad country blues number ‘Midnight Special’, but somehow had more of a Gun Club vibe to it,” Stafford says. The fast paced original was never given the epic grandeur it deserved. Previously a three minute folk rock tune that told a small story of country woe, this expanded version breathes into the country prison song it always wanted to be, telling a far more heroic tale. With bottleneck slide by guitarist Vincent O’Brien and the measured rhythm backing of Rob Haynes, the song has been slowed down to a more contemplative pace.
Now a four piece, Stafford joins guitarist Jim Adama, bassist Dave Carmichael and Rob Haynes from The Membranes and Goldblade on drums and percussion. Recorded and mixed over two years at 6Db Studios in Salford by renowned producer Simon Archer and Harry Stafford, with Archer also contributing sonic and dub flourishes, the album was mastered by Marco Butcher at Boombox Studio in North Carolina. Since reforming, Inca Babies have released four albums and toured Europe, Russia, North America, India and beyond, continuing to explore goth, punk and death rock jazz blues.