Slinky Vagabond - Acoustic Neu Romantics (2026) Hi-Res

Art-rock band Slinky Vagabond return with a new album, Acoustic Neu Romantics, which serves to illuminate the band in a whole new light. It’s a collection of songs which take a very significant side-step away from their usual bold New York style glitz and glamour to reinterpret their back catalogue through an acoustic lens, whilst also introducing some new songs which they do so with the help of their always impressive list of collaborators. Ian Corbridge gets immersed in the glow for Louder Than War.

As a band who have emerged from the glitz and glamour of the New York fashion houses, whilst always never forgetting their somewhat more humble working-class roots, there is little doubt that the shared passion of founding members of Slinky Vagabond, Keanan Duffty and Fabio Fabbri, for punk, glam and art-rock has inspired an already impressive back catalogue of songs. With compositions which are always illuminated by their penchant for sophisticated songwriting, a fearless commitment to musical exploration and a relentless collaborative spirit, you can never quite predict what might come next as they forge new musical pathways from the rich musical legacy that have immersed and embellished their lives so far.

With a band name inspired by a lyric within Bowie’s Young Americans song from 1975, they are a collective who are proud to wear their influences on their sleeves yet remain unafraid to charter new territories as they continually reinvent their band’s identity. As so it proves once again through their new album, Acoustic Neu Romantics which is a collection of 13 songs which largely re-interpret the Slinky Vagabond catalogue through an acoustic lens. Throw in the mix a couple of new songs and some striking cover versions and you have a whole new exciting proposition on the table which proves to be a significant shift from their 2025 album, The Eternal Return.

To Cut A Long Story Short is the first of two covers on the album, this one being inspired by Keanan’s love of Spandau Ballet when they emerged at the forefront of the Blitz club scene in 1980. As a song about a young soldier drafted into a war and forced to fight without getting any answers, the sense of trauma is aptly conveyed through Fabio’s guitar and string arrangements. Lady Bump Discotheque is inspired by Keanan’s youth in Doncaster, specifically in the late 70’s when punk, Two-Tone and disco all collided within a rapidly evolving counterculture. Featuring Ava Cherry who provides some beautiful vocal harmonies, this is a wonderfully stripped down and delicate version of this song which transports you back to a bygone era as it opines in such a heartfelt and reflective fashion for some special times that shaped so much of what was to follow.

Ad Astra follows in similar fashion as Keanan’s own personal tribute to Bowie, penned soon after his untimely death. Written very much about the artists persona (“a master of disguise”) as opposed to Bowie as a private individual, it’s title – Latin for ‘to the stars’ – acknowledges Bowie’s fascination with space. It’s an arrangement which glimmers with a strong air of sophistication with Mike Garson’s extravagant piano runs taking me right back to his work on Bowie’s Aladdin Sane album which to this day is still one of my all-time favourite albums. The glorious melody within Beauty In You is entirely appropriate given the title of the song which recognises that beauty is not just about perfection but can also be seen by the beholder in chaos, imperfection and places which have been abandoned but reclaimed by nature. With piano accompaniment by Dave Formula, this poetic and evocative arrangement is taken to a whole new level compared with its original through this much starker arrangement.

In contrast to its original arrangement which drives along with a glam stomping rhythm, the new acoustic version of Earthman Go Home shimmers with a spectral glow. Inspired by the new focus on developing space tourism flights, it provides a somewhat ironic perspective on the concept suggesting that, should we land on other planets, perhaps we may not actually be welcome just as so many immigrants aren’t on earth today. Coney Island, the first of two new songs, conveys some beautiful reminiscences on Keanan’s summer trips to Coney Island which he describes as having “an otherworldly quality” as he recalls, “I love the fairground sounds, I love the freaks and clowns….they’re all surrounding me.”

Euphoria attains a strong atmospheric and somewhat ethereal feel which completely befits its focus on escaping everyday reality through imagination, love or music. This sense of spiritual transcendence is further enhanced through Dave Tom’s abstract and psychedelic guitar styling. English Country Garden is a beautifully framed folk style ballad, taking a more nostalgic view on the enduring appeal of the British countryside and conveying a sense of escapism, whilst the spectre of Bowie and Ray Davies hovers very much overhead in terms of its lyrical styling.