As Acid Acid, Tiago Castro has been around for about ten years. As a radio host, we’ve known him for much longer, thanks to several memorable shows on Radar and SBSR, and now with A Floresta Encantada on Antena 3. Acid Acid, one can safely say, is an extension of his tastes, expressed through creation rather than broadcasting. But we can say that, here, one thing blends well with the other.
After releasing Jodorowsky in 2020—the result of an invitation from MOTELX to create music in homage to the legendary Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky—Acid Acid is back with The Radio Under The Stars. The title leaves no room for misunderstanding; there is a tribute here to radio and its role, but it goes beyond that. Acid Acid has always navigated the intricacies of psychedelia, weaving through the most classic connections to rock, but also seeking out the intermediaries found in offshoots of krautrock, in certain library music—especially British—and even in shoegaze.
There is something classic about Acid Acid’s music, which seeks context rather than demanding it. The Radio Under The Stars can be listened to in various ways; it is as much a psychedelic album as it is an ambient one built through rock textures reminiscent of mid-1990s Spiritualized. It can also be heard as a mixtape, where various melodies come together to build the ideal moment. And with every second of The Radio Under The Stars, you feel that there is no ideal moment like the present. The music opens itself up to discovery and piques our curiosity, while tugging at our memory and a desire to make connections.
AS