KEYS – Acid Communism (2025)
From their debut 2002 single, ‘Gurl Next Door’, to the 2025 track, ‘When Melody Was King’, Welsh band KEYS has been making music for the masses for over two decades. Known for blending “classic songwriting with hook-laden pop and hypnotic kosmische beats…”, the veteran musicians bring a bit of yesteryear to modern-day audiences, not only dragging us through the years, but transcending genres with ageless themes and sounds. This is our introduction to KEYS, and it’s clear we’re late to the party; better late than never, though. Today, we take a look and listen to the most recent addition to KEYS’ discography, the album Acid Communism.
The eighth full-length album from KEYS, Acid Communism, diverges from the 2020 Covid-era Home Schooling as a heavier, grittier whirl of rock. Far more, I suppose, angular and rugged than the smoother Home Schooling, listening to Acid Communism is like heading off on a sonic journey across forests, deserts, and rivers – unpolished and vulnerable but with sophisticated elegance.
Opening with ‘There’s No I In Teams’, KEYS bursts with a strong 90s grunge flavour. Kicks of crashing drums, dynamic guitars, and shimmering keys bind together in a hard-hitting melody; however, and we hear this across the 12-track album, a distinctive prominence of each instrument is heard, but everything seems to come together in an off-kilter whole.
The first step in the sonic journey made, KEYS takes a further step out into the sonic forest filled with brambles, overgrowth, and imps peeping from the large trees with mischief in their eyes. A deeper pinch of classic rock rears its head in songs like ‘Form A Band’, while there’s a nod to the 70s soft rock tones carrying you in tracks like ‘The Greatest Joke Of All’, ‘When Melody Was King’ and ‘Your Shoes’. For me, the softer, more eclectic ‘Poyekhali’ is a breath of air mid-album, while ‘The Spectre’ brings a bit of an eeriness to Acid Communism.
Melodically, Acid Communism is a plethora of old-school rock tones elegantly executed, but retaining the rough grittiness of songs played at midnight in your garage. In my opinion, it is not entirely the melody that intrigues, but how even the placement of each track represents the journey and understanding of its overall theme. Inspired by the late cultural theorist Mark Fisher, Acid Communism isn’t a very political album, but it celebrates the beauty of the ideology’s idea of connection, community, and togetherness. KEYS frontman Matthew Evans explains:
“We were captivated by the poetry of those two words… Acid Communism isn’t just a title – it’s a guiding principle. Acid symbolises creative play and experimentation, while Communism speaks to the strength found in community. In a time when the internet often amplifies individualism and leans into certain ideologies, the band wanted to celebrate togetherness and collective expression.”
It’s always difficult to choose a favourite track, particularly in an album that follows a path like a navigational guide. Should I choose ‘There’s No I In Teams’ or ‘What Flavour?’ that began our journey, or is the end more appealing with ‘What Do I Have To Do?’ Ultimately, the fact that this album is so well-arranged for each song to have an identity while still woven into a harmonic whole keeps me from choosing a particular favourite. Each song is a step in the journey. Each song is a look at the multi-faceted personality of KEYS. In this case, each song holds its own in my heart, and there’s no way of making it through Acid Communism without feeling its connectedness.
Find out more about KEYS on their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
