Manchester post-punk outfit Inca Babies have shared “Superior Spectre,” a single from their recently released album ‘Reincarnation,’ a project that sees the band re-record and re-envision select tracks from across their back catalogue. A live favourite and a cornerstone of the band’s goth credentials, “Superior Spectre” was originally included in their 1984 John Peel Session and later appeared on their 2014 ‘Scatter’ EP. The accompanying video was largely filmed in Rome by photographer Jandi Moreno and directed by Harry Stafford, with live footage drawn from a recent Manchester gig at Big Hands.
‘Reincarnation’ was recorded and mixed over two years at 6Db Studios in Salford by renowned producer Simon “Ding” Archer (The Fall, PJ Harvey) and Harry Stafford, with Ding contributing sonic and dub flourishes throughout. Mastering was handled by Marco Butcher at Boombox Studio in North Carolina. Stafford is clear about the motivation behind the project: “Looking through our back catalogue, it occurred to me that there were tracks that should again be made available in some manner and others that would benefit from reinvention. This whole project was to be an innovative re-imagining of old tunes, re-invented for contemporary consideration. All of them re-awakened and Re-inca-rnated.” In the lead-up to the album, the band shared two singles in A/B-side format, “Candy Mountain” and “Two Rails To Nowhere,” the latter featuring an expanded version with guitarist Vincent O’Brien alongside the original 1988 uptempo version featuring Inspiral Carpets’ Clint Boon.
Formed in 1983 in Manchester’s now-legendary Hulme deck-access flats, Inca Babies were a vibrant part of Britain’s early post-punk and death-rock scene, amassing a following through intensive touring, six singles, four albums, and four BBC John Peel Sessions between 1984 and 1988, all charting on the UK Indie Charts. After reforming in 2007, the band has released four more albums and toured three continents, continuing to explore goth, punk, death-rock, and jazz-blues with a current lineup that includes guitarist Jim Adama, bassist Dave Carmichael, and drummer Rob Haynes (The Membranes, Goldblade). Their journey since reformation was documented in the 2024 film ‘The Making of Ghost Mechanic Nine.’