Thirty years after "New Improved Bad End", MINK STOLE are back in the studio working on a new album. "Fantastic Fur" will be released by Exile On Mainstream in early 2027.
Some records simply refuse to disappear. They don't need anniversary editions, streaming algorithms or waves of nostalgia. They endure because the people who heard them never really let them go.
"New Improved Bad End" is one of those records. Produced by Dave Sardy and released by BMG in 1996, it reached far fewer people than it deserved. Those who heard it, however, never really forgot it. Never chasing trends, never making compromises, the album quietly became one of the hidden gems of German '90s noise rock. Thirty years later, its unexpected rediscovery became the spark that brought the band back together.
For Andreas Kohl, founder of Exile On Mainstream, this release comes full circle: "Alongside ULME, MINK STOLE were the absolute spearhead of German noise rock for me in the mid-'90s. New Improved Bad End had an incredibly formative impact on me. Their performance at the 1996 Bizarre Festival still echoes in my memory. I only recently discovered that a video of that show actually exists."
Getting the band back together wasn't even the original plan. "Ralph and I met again after ages. Initially we simply wanted to play New Improved Bad End once more. Sascha Saygin took over from former drummer Jochen Röder, the rest of the classic line-up came together again, and then one new song after another just burst out. At some point we realised we were actually making a new LP" recalls vocalist Ian Spehr.
What began as a spontaneous idea has become a whole new chapter. MINK STOLE are currently in the studio working on Fantastic Fur, their first new album in three decades, due for release on Exile On Mainstream in early 2027.
Related content:
