One of post punk's most well hidden secrets, Tampa's The Stick Figures definitely deserve a higher place among the genre's rankings, despite their material having been so little. With their eponymous EP released in 1981, the band went down in history as an obscurity, yet, at the right moment they had managed to earn the appreciation of an eclectic audience including the always resolute John Peel.
At most times sounding heady like something from the no wave movement, and often coming across as a very straightforward, unembellished and edgy take on punk, the music of The Stick Figures protrudes like a forward-looking effect that's ahead of its time even forty whole years after its initial conception. Fans of The Fall (for whom they opened), Au Pairs, Delta 5, Bush Tetras, The Raincoats and the like, will definitely find treasure among The Stick Figures' recordings. Most importantly, an upcoming release of the unorthodox group's complete catalog arriving through the newly founded Floating Mill Records, is an essential listen for anyone who holds post punk near to their heart.
That headiness and the upfront attributes of The Stick Figures' craft are both present in Energy, one of the previously unreleased tracks on the impending anthology, Archeology.
Guitarist Bill Carey lets us in on the song's origin and aim: "Energy was a lyrical collaboration between Maready, David, Sid and me. It was an early song and was in part influenced by the recent impacts of the OPEC oil embargo’s during the 1970’s. I had also recently taken a class in Energy Sciences at USF. These ideas were fed through a ‘filter’ of word play and Energy was the result. The music was written collaboratively."
Archeology will be out on September 3rd, 2021 through Floating Mill Records.
Band photo courtesy of Floating Mill Records
ZR