STICK MEN, the band featuring King Crimson men Tony Levin & Pat Mastelotto (along with Markus Reuter), have announced they’ll release their new album titled “Prog Noir” on October 21.
Drummer Pat Mastelotto and bassist Tony Levin must rank as two of Rock’s busiest musicians. They’re both current members of King Crimson, but these cats have an impressive musical career, and “Prog Noir” results a mix of their varied musical background.
Levin is also a prolific session musician with more than 800 album recordings and a regular in Peter Gabriel’s band, and Mastelotto’s present projects include O.R.k. and Komara but of course is as well a session beast having worked for the likes of Scandal, Al Jarreau, Kim Mitchell, Patti LaBelle, Kenny Loggins, etc. And of course, he’s one of the founding members of Mr. Mister.
Somehow they’ve still found time to make four albums as Stick Men, in which their trio is completed by guitarist Markus Reuter. The music is uncompromisingly odd and all the better for it.
And this is indeed uncompromisingly music, as the Stick Men start the album with two instrumentals and both are the most experimental. Usually, you leave this kind of stuff for the end, but Stick Men are brave enough to place them at the beginning.
In the title track ‘Prog Noir’ (indeed prog at its maximum) and ‘Mantra’ you have Levin’s inimitable bass lines and Stick instrument, Reuter’s expansive washes of guitar tones, and Mastelotto’s hybrid acoustic / electronic percussion. There are odd meters and dissonances, but they’re not fetishized, merely a part of the mix.
With both Levin and Reuter playing touched-string instruments, the who-played-what of it is often unclear, and certainly it sounds like a much larger band than just a trio.
But part of the appeal of this band is the collective integration, the way they work together to produce the music and this become evident since track 3 ‘Plutonium’, where the Stick Men transforms the album into something else, instantly likeable, accessible, and with a ‘song format’ with some YES touches, some EL&P, some Camel, etc.
Whether it’s the sensitive (but somewhat unusual) backing to the beautiful melodies of ‘A Rose in the Desert / Requiem’ or the organically shifting rhythms of ‘Leonardo’.
‘Schattenhaft’ has a bit of Porcupine Tree melodies all over, while on the calm ‘Never the Same’ Markus Reuter’s vocals bring to mind The Flower Kings.
Stick Men’s music is definitely progressive rock in the exact sense of the term / genre.
The main takeaway is that while “Prog Noir” is still rooted in some of the innovations of King Crimson, Stick Men have added plenty of their own elements to the music, and speaking about Prog Rock, the result is one of the year’s highlights.
It’s elaborated music but quite melodic, with different rhythm patterns creating something special, and the vocals (shared between Levin & Reuter) are not your typical verse / chorus and obvious build structures.
“Prog Noir” is a grower, and you need repeated listens to get in full, as happens with most ‘true prog’ albums. And all it’s pretty captivating.
01 – Prog Noir
02 – Mantra
03 – Plutonium
04 – The Tempest
05 – Schattenhaft
06 – Rose in the Sand / Requiem
07 – Leonardo
08 – Trey’s Continuum
09 – Embracing the Sun
10 – Never the Same
Tony Levin – Stick, Bass, Voice
Markus Reuter – U8 and AU8 Touch Guitars, Voice
Pat Mastelotto – Acoustic / Electronic Drums, Percussion
Pre Order:
www.amazon.com/Prog-Noir-Stickmen/dp/B01K39V524
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