The Stick Men, "Insatiable"

I admit that up until a few weeks ago I'd never heard of The Stick Men, an early '80s Philadelphia 5 piece that specialized in the same sort of no/new wave/punk/funk as NYC's infamous James Chance and the Contortions. The Cuneiform Records press blurb promised an even more energetic version so I had to hear it. They're right.

Cuneiform

The Stick Men kicked out the jams like James Brown on PCP. "Insatiable" collects the band's entire recorded output, 2 LPs from 1982-83, plus some live tracks and 22 minutes worth of live Quicktime video. Of the 22 songs, most are firecrackers less than 2 minutes apiece, though "Funky Hayride" and "Do Get Down" approach the 5 minute mark. The opening track "Legend of the Stick Men" probably best declares their mission: "we had a vision of dots and spots and synthesizer people modulating in knots, so here we am trying to do what we can, express yourself, we're Stick Men!" With 2 guys and a gal on vocals plus guitar, bass, drums, organ/synth and trumpet, the rhythm is solid and tight but thoroughly convulsive with many well timed riffs and breaks. The live tracks and video make it even more evident the amount of energy being exorcised by this silly lot. It all looks and sounds like a lot of fun. This is music for when you really, really need to be very, very awake .

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