MONKEY JOCKEY MAN AND THE SAFARI TICK SUGAR

People make fun of Ohio a lot (especially online), but it's not without its contributions. They gave us Devo and, uh, chili on spaghetti and?multiple mediocre presidents. But Perfect! Now there's something Ohio can hold its head high about! Perfect is an Akron-based quintet that plays a daring, experimental variety of jazz-inflected rock. Monkey Jockey Man and the Safari Tick Sugar is their sophomore album. Since their debut, they've ditched brass instruments in favor of some intriguing noise influences, and the results are quite strong.

Monkey Jockey Man opens with the 16-minute "Christ Excavations". Disorienting, reversed music immediately puts the listener on their back foot, but the verse that emerges is jazzy, fun, and surprisingly catchy. Subtle, weird flourishes are woven in artfully. This sprawling piece incorporates jumpy moments of math rock and post-punk that enhance the tension and gel naturally with warmer jazzy moments. The band toys around with other contrasts, too. Slow, minimal passages suddenly jump into high gear, and rock instrumentation will give way to staticky musique concrète.

The mid-track sound experiments eventually bloom into ascendant vocal harmonies backed with looping synths. Despite this incredible diversity, the band holds things together. Vocal lines act as leitmotifs as the band shifts from gentle ambiance to wiry, Yes-inspired riffage. The sheer scope and ambition of this song is one of the best examples I've heard in recent years of what progressive rock can aspire to be. There's genuine adventurousness and a forward-thinking spirit that many modern prog bands lack. This is rock music?a genre at a nadir of cultural influence?being truly progressive.

Following that impressive opener is "Acoustic Encryption". Nasty, gnarly, knotted guitar lines pour forth before withdrawing and allowing something gentler and jazzier to take the lead. The song builds across its runtime, and I really like the vocal performance a lot. It ends on a more subdued note, however, and it's a nice bit of contrast.

"Ugly Cane Day" sounds like an oddball new wave song at first. It oscillates between quiet, restrained moments; bits of mellow jazz; and bristling, edgy rock with an avant-garde slant. This piece is followed by "Tick Sugar", my least-favorite song on the album. It's a harsh, five-minute collage of noisy, squealing, processed guitar, and distant, clattering percussion. I'm not just going to listen to this song on its own, but in the context of the album as a whole, it's not awful.

Things fade in and build up on "A Wreath of Virtuous Infinite (The)". The opening passage of this 10-minute piece is a fun, Latin-flavored jazzy guitar jam. The rhythm is  jumpy and angular, but the soloing is melodic and skillful. Things slow down for the verse, and the slight folkiness of the backing ensemble reminds me of some of Genesis's early work. Compared to some of the other cuts on this album, this song has a relatively linear song structure. There are plenty of surprising twists and general avant-weirdness, but there's nothing like the detours found in "Christ Excavation" or "Ugly Cane Day".

The album's final song is "Miserable Circuit". It's a little two-and-a-half-minute piece of lush synth ambiance, and it's a nice, relaxing way to end what is often an anxious record.

Monkey Jockey Man and the Safari Tick Sugar is a big, ambitious release. Perfect does an incredible job melding jazz, avant-garde, and progressive rock influences, alongside other surprising inclusions.

Review originally published here: theeliteextremophile.com/2024/06/10/album-review-perfect-monkey-jockey-man-and-the-safari-tick-sugar/