Manchester’s Inca Babies Conjure a Spectral Groove in Their New Album “Ghost Mechanic 9”

Picture it: Driving without a destination, headlights slicing through darkness, the lights of the nighttime flickering like ghostly warnings—Ghost Mechanic Nine from Manchester’s legendary Inca Babies feels like a soundtrack for a drive through purgatory.

Ghost Mechanic Nine, the band’s first release in three years, charges forward with unrelenting energy, its title track setting the stage with a raw, rhythmic pulse that recalls the band’s 1980s grit. The album continues their fusion of goth, punk, and death-rock jazz-blues. Frontman Harry Stafford revisits the angular guitars of their early work, backed by Rob Haynes’ precise percussion, Jim Adama’s brooding basslines, and Kevin G. Davy’s haunting trumpet. Released via Black Lagoon, Ghost Mechanic Nine honors their roots while driving headlong into new territory, the sound of the Incas unmistakable and undeniably alive.

“It is a surging highway groove, that drives us on into the night with a rumbling bass line,” says Stafford. “Driving for the sake of it driving to escape. Headlights in the dark: red and blue dash lights; wondering why anyone but you is driving this late. The ghost on the highway, the grease-ball mechanic who says you’ll keep going for miles and miles. And all the numbers are the same It’s number 9, the ninth Inca’s album the first of nine songs on the album.” 999 call the emergency services.

Ghost Mechanic Nine features a groovy visualizer that takes us down a nighttime highway, through tunnels, and under hundreds of streetlights. This visual sets the mood, capturing the empty autopilot mentality that comes with a long drive with not much to see.

Watch the video below:

These darkly invigorating tunes visits a similar place as where Inca Babies started back in the 80s with their raw and spiky psychobilly trash rock, reconnecting with their roots, where The Gun Club and The Cramps met – the very intersection where Inca Babies found their most passionate and loyal following. Insect Symphony is a Stooges lead-riff tribute to all those bands that are no longer with us.

The Inca Babies sprang to life in 1983 amidst the decaying high-rises of Hulme, Manchester, their roots tangled in the concrete corridors of those so-called “cities in the sky.” Promised as modern marvels, the flats quickly fell to ruin, home to students, artists, and lost souls. It was there that the Incas honed their snarling sound, debuting in 1984 with Interior, a single that stood apart from the city’s Joy Division-laden lineage. Writer CP Lee christened them “the Hulme Cramps,” a nod to their gothabilly growl.

As fixtures of Britain’s postpunk, goth, and death-rock circuits, the Incas spent the next five years carving their name into the scene with relentless touring, six singles, and four albums, alongside four BBC John Peel sessions. Though they disbanded in 1988, their resurrection in 2007 reignited their raw energy, proving that some fires refuse to fade.

With Simon ‘Ding’ Archer (The Fall, PJ Harvey) at the helm, the album’s production strikes a perfect balance between analogue warmth and contemporary edge. Recorded over two years at 6Db Studios in Salford, Archer and Harry Stafford meticulously crafted and mixed the record, with Archer lending his touch through bold sonic textures and dub-infused flourishes. Mastering duties fell to Marco Butcher at his Boombox studio in North Carolina, ensuring the album’s polished yet raw finish. A standout addition is the reimagined fan favorite, Opium Den, now transformed into Opium Dub—a testament to Archer’s finesse and creativity in reshaping sound.

As of November 29th, Ghost Mechanic Nine will be available everywhere. You can preview the album below and pre-order it (digitally and on vinyl) here.

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