TENTACLES

In an ideal world, Stick Men would be heralded as one of our greatest prog bands, but for some strange reason they appear to never quite gain the acclaim they surely deserve even though all those involved are renowned for being at the very top of their field. Tony Levin (Chapman Stick, Touch Guitars U10, vocoder), Pat Mastelotto (acoustic & electronic drums, percussion), and Markus Reuter (Touch Guitars AU8, soundscapes) are a band quite unlike any other, continuing to push the boundaries with every release. They are a band who truly come to life when playing in concert, sometimes having guests share the stage with them, taking ideas and moving in different directions so perhaps it is not a surprise they have not released more studio works, with their last full-length studio release being the wonderful 'Prog Noir' back in 2016, but now we have a new 30-minute collection of five songs. Outside of Robert Fripp, Levin was the longest-serving member of King Crimson, while Mastelotto was there from 1994 until its end, and although Reuter was never a full member, he was part of The Crimson ProjeKct with both of them.

This, of course, means that many King Crimson fans have always been interested in this band as well, while I must confess that although I have loved Crimson for most of my life, I actually play Stick Men more for sheer listening pleasure as they somehow manage to combine off the wall complexity, time signatures and layers into something which is always fascinating and incredibly enjoyable. There is something remarkable about their interaction and interplay, and each time I play an album of theirs I find something I missed the previous time around: needless to say, it is essential to always play their music on headphones and devote oneself to the world being created in the ears as nothing else matters. This is music which is always seeking a way forward, like water creating a crack in the rock until it carves it out into a massive cavern, never following the crowd but instead providing something majestic and enthralling. I can sit and listen to this all day and never tire, with all three combining in a way which only happens from being absolute masters of their craft and playing countless hours together ? one can only guess at how many concerts Levin and Mastelotto have shared a stage at, while with Reuter there have been plenty as well.

Exciting and invigorating, this is truly essential.