Markus Nikolaus does things differently. There is a notion of radicality and non-conformity in his work. And it leads to decisions that seem totally contrarian to common music market sense—driven by feeling rather than reason.
Last year, I received The Acid Kids LP in the mail. A carefully crafted and limited double vinyl release featuring a staggering 17 tracks. „The digital release will come sometime next year,“ he wrote to me. „March or April.“ First, there will be more single releases. So far, the album hasn’t dropped yet.
The scope and release process of The Acid Kids LP aren‘t the only oddities surrounding it, but also: Who is the performing artist? Is it Markus Nikolaus? Markus Nikolaus & The Acid Kids? Or HARTES PORZELLAN? All these names floated around in the past. Maybe one can attribute this shapeshifting attitude to an urge of rebellion, but more likely, it‘s due to the album‘s constant evolution.
On the vinyl cover’s backside, Niklaus writes: „For me it’s a life’s work—a journey so final that it marks a beginning. Embarking on a lifelong adventure.“
The Acid Kids LP might seem like a concept album. Because who in their right mind would attempt such a scope any other way? The album is more the result of a long-winding journey than a predetermined outcome. A journey that started in 2022 with the single release of Bicycle Day, one of eight tracks so far taken from The Acid Kids LP.
Excess and Sensitivity
And The Acid Kids LP almost tears itself apart, musically pulling and pushing in every direction. Rumbling, even aggressive and psychedelic like in ALL IN YOUR HEAD or RICH.
Janosch Troehler
You’ll find pleasing grooves roaming the vast field of indie rock. Sometimes, Markus Nikolaus even conjures a driven urgency as in Enjoy The Pain, and other times, the energy is more subtle as in INVISIBLE.
But you have to reserve a special place for the calm and stripped-down tracks like Gave It All or Pure Tears here. And Never Let You Go is nothing but brilliant; Markus Nikolaus’ version of the Stones’ Wild Horses.
These songs not only provide a breather between the often harsh, distorted psychedelic excess but also focus on the sensitivity that Niklaus deploys in his songwriting.
Take the Time
The Acid Kids LP comes with a caveat: its massive scope, both in mere length and sonic influences, makes the album highly volatile and unpredictable. Brute-forcing your way into its world is impossible; sitting here and listening to it back-to-back is quite exhausting, never knowing what’s waiting around the corner. It’s like a feverish rush, disorienting and meandering. You have to let it wash you away; fighting the current is futile.
And so, the unpredictability and wealth are also its best qualities. The Acid Kids LP isn’t designed for one specific mood; it doesn’t simply make you happy or sad, but every emotion, every vibe has its representative within the tracklist. Find what you’re enjoying right at this moment and let yourself go.
Once the album is released, my only advice is that if you take the time—and quite some—you’ll dive deeper and discover the intricate details and bold choices in every single song. And picking your favourite tracks gets harder and harder.
Markus Nikolaus – The Acid Kids
Release: tba
Tracklist
- BUKOWSKI
- BICYCLE DAY
- INVISIBLE
- #6
- ALL IN YOUR HEAD
- Piece Of You
- SINNER (feat. PNK SAND)
- Hold Me Close
- The Other
- RICH
- Gave It All
- NO MORE HIGHS
- Don’t Fear The Fear
- Never Let You Go
- Enjoy The Pain
- Pure Tears
- You’re The Only Way
