PERFECT

Pretty much suffering the same fate of being completely ignored by the prog mainstream, the adventurous self-titled debut still hasn't captured a lot of attention but nevertheless the band continues on and two years later in 2024 has released its sophomore followup with a much more memorable title! MONKEY JOCKEY MAN AND THE SAFARI TICK SUGAR is definitely an album title that isn't going to pull up any competing results in a search engine. This second offering features six distinct tracks that exceed the 44-minute mark and continues the wild and unhinged prog parade that the debut delivered in abundance.

The band has been trimmed down a bit. while Sam Hold (guitar), Jake Ross (drums), Sam Colgrove (bass, keys) and Ian Palmerton (vocals, guitar, percussion) are back for the attack, members Michael Weber (keys, percussion) and Eric Perez (alto sax, tenor sax, guitar) seemed to have dropped out. They are replaced by Sean Morton who handles keys only. With no horn section to be heard the sound is also a bit truncated but it's nothing to worry about because these restless proggers are chock filled with manic energy, technical wizardry and a sense of purpose that continues to keep them in a strange little world of their own making. The album should come with a warning: FOR SEASONED PROGGERS ONLY! This is ridiculously complex music with so many thematic changes and time signature workouts that it will make your head spin.

The band doesn't waste any time with its too much of a good thing. The sprawling 16 1/2 opener "Christ Excavations" begins with a series of freaky electronic sounds, back masking record sounds and a whole lotta weirdness before jumping around its usual mix of spastic Yezda Urfa prog pacified with Happy The Man chill out moments, Thank You Scientist swancore influenced math rock and pretty much any unexpected hairpin excursion you can think of. While melodic in nature, this a collection of unreleased melodies that sort of come and go like a rotating exhibit or a parody of a fashion show. This is the kind of music many will say isn't music and it's no wonder that that many do not gravitate to this style of crazy prog because it's just so unpredictable and leaves the listener struggling to follow.

But that's the whole point! Do you go to the amusement park to ride a wild roller coaster only to feel comfort or do you want to be scared [&*!#]less? Well i wouldn't call this music scary but it is most definitely challenging. It seems anything goes although within the perimeters of a nerdy Yezda Urfa prog style with lots of math rock jitteriness. If ever the tag brutal prog applied, then a band like PERFECT fits the bill, perfectly! Despite the lack of a horn section there are still moments of jazz-fusion as are there moments of King Crimson, of Gentle Giant, of Ruins, of well pretty much any band that was just plain nuts. This second album seems to have even less [%*!#]s to give as it just goes for the brutal prog jugular.

Sure not everyone's bailiwick but if you like prog as adventurous as it gets and complex for complexity's sake then you can't go wrong with PERFECT and on MONKEY JOCKEY MAN AND THE SAFARI TICK SUGAR you can expect a musical experience as bizarre and demanding and freaked out as the album title insinuates. This release even features bizarre industrial noise sections such as on "Tick Sugar." Harsh, brutal and not even remotely user friendly, this one is for the hardcores who love the heck outa strange, alienating musical processions that give a middle finger to any conventionalities. I love it!

While starting out in 2017 as Perfect Girl, the band divorced the Girl and became simply PERFECT! After starting out more in the realms of funk, rock and punk, the once angsty trio moved on to the more angular workouts of prog rock once it expanded its lineup. This self-titled debut hit the scene in August 2022 and takes its influences from the more bold, daring and adventurous (US)American prog bands of the 70s, namely Yezda Urfa, Pentwater, Mirthrandir, McLuhan and Happy The Man. This debut album features PERFECT in full prog form with knotty complex compositions that combine the angular knottiness of avant-prog along with the virtuosity of jazz-fusion and symphonic prog accompanied by dreamy atmospheres and occasional bantering heavy rock guitar.

All i can say is wow! This was love at first listen and easily made my top 10 of 2022 with a single listen. Second time proves even a better sustaining wow factor. This is the kind of prog i totally love! Just melodic enough for you to sink your teeth into something, PERFECT is a masterful act in juggling various stylistic approaches along with hairpin turns, adventurous musical gymnastics and a keen sense of keeping things both technical and psychedelic simultaneously. Just imagine the finger breaking dexterity of Yezda Urfa's "Boris" along with the suave pacified chill factor of Happy The Man's "Crafty Hands." Add to that a jazz section reminiscent of Chicago based McLuan with a sense of compositional fortitude in the vein of The Muffins. Add a bit of Pentwater's masterfully melodies and hard rock and you found your PERFECT band! And don't forget a big of King Crimson inspired Polyphony either.

Despite the lame band name and rather uninspired album cover art that reminds of Rush's "Hold Your Fire," this is not an 80s synthpop wannabe album in the least bit. This collection of five tracks sticks to a classic album's playing time of under 40 minutes (35 to be exact) and displays a rollercoaster ride of ideas crammed into every musical motif and creative cadence. The band at this point features six members and although Ian Palmerton provides vocals, a large chunk of the musical real estate is dedicated to instrumental mind-blowing craziness ranging from jagged chunky riff-fueled time signature-rich processions to spaced out trippy excursions into Krautrock inspired spaciness graced with the occasional nods to Canterbury jazz warmth and King Crimson frenzied guitar freakery.

Despite all the liberties taken on this one, there's always an underlying melodic structure that the band simply improvises around and at times the band brings other USA acts to mind such as Birds And Buildings, The Mars Volta or Thinking Plague. Yeah, these proggers really deliver the PERFECT eclecticism for my tastes in modern prog. The music may be a bit alienating at first and only hardened proggers will instantly take to this musical madness. Others will need a bit of time to acclimate. Although the band is much more energetic and jazz oriented, the compositions at times really remind me of Kayo Dot's early albums in many ways. Crazy dreamy avant-prog fueled chamber jazz rock fusion that flirt with going metal but never really do. Easy to digest grooves that once established take extreme liberties with crazy contrapuntal melodic stack ups adding some spice.

All in all this is an outstanding debut from PERFECT. The band displays a reckless approach to crafting its dense and chaotic prog attacks but offers just enough traditional elements to keep everything anchored to the sounds of the past. Steeped with highly uncommon time signatures set to a quirky Thank You Scientist spazziness, this technical escapade through the prog blender is a nice refreshing reminder that true originality is alive and well and although such bands rarely reap the rewards of their own creative mojo, PERFECT walks the tightrope between screeching skronkiness and splendiferous melodies. The pacing of everything is excellent as there's really not a boring moment on this one for my ears. Can't say this reaches the level of masterpiece of all time but like the USA based prog bands that came before, truly offers a nook of the prog universe where not too many have ventured.