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Stick Men — Let's THRAK Again
(Iapetus 7D2612, 2026, 2CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2026-10-10

Let's THRAK Again Cover art

With their latest full-length studio album, Stick Men make it clear what field their roots have grown from. Let’s THRAK Again obviously references THRAK, the 1995 album that marked a new era for King Crimson and included Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto in the double trio lineup with Robert Fripp, Bill Bruford, Adrian Belew, and Trey Gunn. Anyone who’s heard Stick Men before is aware that Crimson is a big part of their musical DNA, and they’ve been known to play tunes from much of that band’s history, not just the 90s phase referenced here. Their last full-length studio album was Prog Noir back in 2016, and in the intervening ten years, they’ve released a few EPs (Tentacles, Swimming in Tea, and Brutal) and countless live albums, as well as touring the world multiple times, adding new music to their setlists from time to time. Many of those new pieces now get definitive versions here, including “Komodo,” “Fandango,” “Brutal,” and “Swimming in Tea.” In fact, the recording sessions produced such a wealth of material that they decided on an unusual release strategy. They passed the multitrack recordings along to two different friends to mix, leaving it up to them to decide which tracks to include in what order as well as mixing to their own taste. So we have Reel One mixed by Stefano Castagna and containing twelve tracks, and Reel Two mixed by Fabio Trentini and featuring fourteen tracks. Eleven titles appear on both Reels in different versions, and as I understand it, sometimes the versions are not even from the same studio takes. For the most part, the additional tracks on each Reel are short ambient improvisations. Each Reel is available as an individual CD, or there’s a deluxe set containing both. Rather than going into details and comparisons, I’d like to focus on the fact that although they’ve referenced THRAK explicitly, the fact is that Stick Men have taken some of the ideas of King Crimson and expanded them into many different areas. So yes, two of the defining characteristics of 90s Crimson are here — the heavy, jagged, rhythmic complexity and the gentle, ambient looping — but this band has a sense of melody and drama that’s beyond what Fripp and Co. ever exhibited. It’s also lacking any of the Belew vocal tunes and most of the interlocking guitar patterns, which is a bit ironic considering that most bands featuring tapping instruments do include them. Another factor is that as a trio of Levin, Mastelotto, and Markus Reuter, they have to really think about how they’re filling the space cpmpared to a six-piece band. One thing I can’t do is tell you which Reel is better. As a fan, I am happy to have both, and picking one would be like asking the parents of fraternal twins to pick a favorite child. What I can say for sure is that while I love King Crimson in all its incarnations, I’ll get more listening pleasure from Let’s THRAK Again than from the original THRAK.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto, Markus Reuter, Stick Men

More info
http://stickmen.bandcamp.com/album/lets-thrak-again-reel-one
http://stickmen.bandcamp.com/album/lets-thrak-again-reel-two

 

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