MEN IN STASIS CD RELEASE AND LAUNCH PARTY
Tuesday 28th November 2023 @ The Express Tavern
Come and join the band ahead of the release of our latest album, Men in Stasis (collecting the three Men In Stasis EPs), upstairs at The Express Tavern in Kew Bridge.
There will a couple of short acoustic numbers during the evening as well as a play-through of the album ahead of it’s official release on December 1.
CDs will be available to purchase on the night or from our friends at Burning Shed
MEN IN STASIS iii
(Release date: 1st December 2023)
This third instalment explores colliding journeys of self-defeating beliefs, righteous/misplaced indignation, unexpected discoveries and handling losses and gains with equanimity. A project spawned as a response to Covid lockdown ennui and dislocation comes to its epic conclusion.
With the world going a little bit crazy in so many ways, how do we give a voice to sanity and empower each other to work together? With rousing singalong sensibilities and artful pop- prog, The Signal (iii) this time is a beacon, a call to arms to find strength in unity, to stand up for what is right. But is such optimism ultimately doomed to failure?
Sometimes the greatest struggles we have are internal ones – tumultuous conflicts between our personal angels and demons. Channelling the imagined sound of The Undertones on a day trip to the underworld, The Crucible (iii) asks whether ‘taking control’ might start with accepting, owning and learning to live with our darker selves; there’s a storm a-coming.
The Stand (iii) melds soul and R&B with classic prog pomp as it questions whether, in taking on the big external struggles and conflicts and potentially being crushed by them, sometimes our greatest victory is simply getting through the day? Maybe that’s enough of a ‘stand’ in this messed up world?
Lending his considerable talents to the creation of all the Men In Stasis images, The Mighty Handful are again deeply grateful to have renowned comic book artist and lovely human Mark Buckingham working with them. Mr. Handful finally erupts … but is it with powerful redemptive energies or with evil, destructive forces? Is it within our power to decide?
Tracklisting:
1. The Signal (iii)
2. The Crucible (iii)
3. The Stand (iii)
All songs written by The Mighty Handful
Produced by Matt Howes
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Matt Howes
The Mighty Handful –
Ralph Blackbourn – Keyboards, backing vocals
Tom Halley – Bass, backing vocals
Christopher James Harrison – Guitars, backing vocals
Matt Howes – Vocals, acoustic guitar, additional keyboards
Gary Mackenzie – Drums, backing vocals
Cover art by Mark Buckingham
The Men In Stasis iii EP will available for streaming on Spotify, YouTube Music, etc. and to download via iTunes, Amazon and elsewhere.
MEN IN STASIS ii
(Release date: 26th August 2022)
Held by forces far beyond their control … the cracks are beginning to show
Continuing with the second in their triptych of Men In Stasis EPs, The Mighty Handful release another three new songs that examine our relationship with the pressures the bear down on us, while now daring to reach for solutions.
Using the enduringly mysterious “number stations” as a jumping off point, The Signal (ii) looks at the signs and patterns we find all around us if we look hard enough … but are they figments of desperate imaginations or very real warnings from the Great Beyond?
Standing on the start line, yet undecided on the best direction, The Crucible (ii) mixes hope and cynicism while questioning if there’s baggage we should discard to make our journeys that much easier.
The Stand (ii) is the amped-up, angular sound of a realisation that online discourse has become increasingly (and inevitably) fractious … is it finally time to make a stand?
Lending his considerable talents to the creation of all the Men In Stasis images, The Mighty Handful are again deeply grateful to have renowned comic book artist and lovely human Mark Buckingham working with them. This time Mr. Handful is stirring with pent up energies just waiting to be released.
Molded yet motivated – flawed and floundering – optimism tempered by experience.
Tracklisting:
1. The Signal (ii)
2. The Crucible (ii)
3. The Stand (ii)
All songs written by The Mighty Handful
Produced by Matt Howes
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Matt Howes
The Mighty Handful –
Ralph Blackbourn – Keyboards, backing vocals
Tom Halley – Bass, backing vocals
Christopher James Harrison – Guitars, backing vocals, sound collage (on The Signal)
Matt Howes – Vocals, acoustic guitar, additional keyboards
Gary Mackenzie – Drums, backing vocals
Cover art by Mark Buckingham
The Men In Stasis ii EP will be a digital only release from Big Ness Records – available for streaming on Spotify and to download via iTunes, Amazon, YouTube Music and elsewhere.
Listen on Spotify Buy on Amazon Buy on iTunes
MEN IN STASIS
Listen on Spotify Buy on Amazon Buy on iTunes
Stuck between moments, suspended in time.
Just months after the release of their most recent album, Touchy Subjects, The Mighty Handful release an EP with three brand new songs that grapple with experiences of finding ourselves betwixt and between in processes of change.
The Signal explores both the comfort and suffocation of being held in a state of flux; wanting to break free but rejecting the opportunity to do so.
The Crucible recounts a child’s fascination with a game of snooker. The tension remains unresolved due to a technical failure, which creates a Schrödinger’s Final, where both players have simultaneously lost and won.
The Stand speaks more directly to the context of a relationship, looking to the past and afraid of the future while paralysed by competing and confusing demands.
Once again, The Mighty Handful are proud and privileged to have noted comic book artist Mark Buckingham creating artwork for this release, which allows us to see ‘Mr. Handful’, who debuted on the cover of Touchy Subjects, from a very different yet equally striking perspective.
Confounding choices to be made, inaction embraced, resolution that may never come.
Tracklisting:
1. The Signal
2. The Crucible
3. The Stand
All tracks written by The Mighty Handful
Produced by Matt Howes and The Mighty Handful
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Matt Howes at Big Ness Studios
The Mighty Handful is –
Ralph Blackbourn – Keyboards
Tom Halley – Bass
Christopher James Harrison – Guitars
Matt Howes – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Gary Mackenzie – Drums
Cover art by Mark Buckingham