MONKEY JOCKEY MAN AND THE SAFARI TICK SUGAR

New adventurous Ohio based prog band on the block, PERFECT released one crazy little debut in 2022 which looked homebound for inspiration rather than digging through the vaults across the pond in the prog rich UK and European scenes. Forging a very eclectic style that encompassed some of the best prog bands the USA has had to offer, PERFECT carried the torch of various stellar prog bands like Yezda Urfa, Mirthrandir, Happy The Man, Pentwater, McLuan and pretty much any other unique musical entity that was stomping around the USA in the 1970s.

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!

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/