Acid Test

Recently reunited Scotland art-rockers reissue the tripped-out debut which made their name and took them briefly to Hollywood.

- By David Pollock

Listening to the Beta Band's The Three EPs collection nearly 30 years after release is like stepping into a time capsule. Not into the past, but towards a bright new altemative future in which the global, wildly eclectic possibilities available to the modern music maker have evolved with analogue musicianship as their prime driving force.

The Scottish quartet, who were fully formed in London but who share origins in Edinburgh and the county of Fife, collapsed amid internal apathy and personal issues in 2004, but the news that the long-awaited live reunion is happening in 2025 has brought much excitement and already sold-out concerts across the UK and US.

To go alongside the dates, this 1998 debut collection is getting a reissue on heavyweight double vinyl this summer, with all the related artwork and original sleeves included. As the name suggests, it's a compilation of the first three EPs, Champion Versions, The Patty Patty Sound and Los Amigos Del Beta Bandidos, 12 songs in total, all of them recorded in swift DIY fashion and released between 1997 and '98 by Parlophone’s Regal imprint.