Stuckfish – IV (2024)

I discovered this band after they released the great album Days of Innocence (2022) and I immediately bought the earlier albums (Calling 2018 and The Watcher 2019). Since then, the band has conquered a place among my favourite bands and that is certainly also due to the slight Arena vibe that I felt and let that be…….. well, you know.

As with almost every band that releases a new album, the press releases are filled with the intentions to show a new sound but still cherish the familiar. However, the bar is always raised and the album is the best they have ever made and of course that is an understandable goal. It's no different here and now it's up to me to write down what I hear and feel.

A disadvantage of waiting for the CD before writing a review is that there are already several reviews to be found and I have to admit that I always like to read them, at the risk of being too guided by what I have read when writing my own review. If I were to do that in this case, I would think IV would be by far the best album Stuckfish ever made. However, that is not (yet?) the case for me. Oh dear, what's going on then?

Let me say that I think IV is a great album and that Stuckfish is still an excellent band. New keyboardist Paul McNally was added a bit later in the process, but guitarist and composer Ade Fisher also played several keyboard parts. What hasn't changed compared to the earlier albums is the presence of more proggie tracks as well as the more melodic rock leaning, often shorter songs. Fortunately, singer Phil Stuckey is still in top form, what a beautiful voice this man has. The rhythm section is still formed by drummer Adam Sayers and bassist Phil Morey and they do a good job without really standing out. 

For the people who don't know Stuckfish, I would like to say that you hear a typical British form of neo-prog that sometimes resembles Arena or Jadis, but I'll come back to that later.

Opener Shadows and Moonbeams starts with a beautiful a cappella piece and continues with a pumping and driving rhythm with a straight forward bass line. Still, there is plenty of variation in it and of course Ade Fisher's solo is not lacking. The chorus is catchy and gets stuck in your head. Nice song and that promises something for the sequel. Silently waiting starts very quietly but halfway through it changes into a smoother rhythm and the transition from acoustic guitar to electric is nice. Lifeline starts off as a Jadis track and turns into a cheerful song with a sing-along chorus but withsome heavier keys. Still, the melody isn't necessarily original and that's okay, but I don't like the Yes like guitar part and that's not surprising because I don't like Steve Howe's playing. One of the highlights of the album comes with Liberty and that is a great example of the use of Stuckey's voice that is a bit more raw and mournful every now and then and that doesn't happen very often. A thoroughly prog song with only one drawback, no closing guitar solo where that would have been very appropriate because the bombastic ending just deserved it. Fragile is the band's shortest song ever and could enter the charts but it doesn't affect me at all, sorry. Fortunately, with The Time of your Life, my favourite song of IV comes along. The menacing atmosphere at the beginning and the clear Arena vibe in this song touch me immediately and nothing is missing. The vocal lines are very beautiful. The spoken word in the middle forms the transition to the finale and yes, yes, (pun intended) Ade can fully indulge in a truly wonderful guitar solo, so beautiful. One of the best songs from Stuckfish ever.

JFKX, on the other hand, is a shorter rocker with a leading role for McNally who gets to scatter a few nice swirling keyboard solos over the pumping foundation. Could happen more often by the way. Unfortunately this song doesn't appeal to me as much, but live it will go down well. As you might expect, there will is a longer and more proggie song to follow and Fly (on the Feathers of Hope) is again one of my favourites of the album, despite the somewhat jazzy chords, and reminds me of Jadis, especially the guitar solo could have been played by Gary Chandler.

I haven't talked about the lyrics yet and closing track SkiesFall offers a perfect opportunity to dive into the thoughts of Stuckey because he describes a personal and intense near-death experience. Wow, that hits me hard. We have already discovered on all previous albums that this man is able to take you along into his fantasies and on IV  it is no different, although I do have the idea that he has now processed more personal experiences and insights and refers less to a fictional world. As always, listen and fill in your own perception. Musically, this is a song with a pulsating rhythm with a staccato guitar on a bed of floating keys and at over nine minutes their longest song ever. Oppressive, haunting in a way. Fisher plays a nice melodic solo that forms a kind of happy ending. (no, not that you filthy buggers) Very touching again.

After listening to new releases several times, I regularly have conflicting thoughts, and so it is again. There are such beautiful songs on IV and that shows what Stuckfish has to offer. And now for the eternal but, there are also some that don't touch me, which absolutely does not mean that they are bad, just not completely my taste. I regularly, especially for the holidays, make a best of playlist of my favourite bands in I-tunes and the one from Stuckfish gets some beautiful songs added to it. But Days of Innocence is still my go to album.

I also have some doubts about the artwork. The previous albums all had such beautiful graphic covers, but for IV they opted for a somewhat simple elaboration of the existing bandlogo against a black background. Wouldn't have been my choice, but it certainly is cleverly drawn.

Music 83

Cover 60