Their follow-up, Man Made Stars (1999), represents not so much a progression as a consolidation of The Stickmen's vision. Having made tentative forays to Melbourne, where they dazzled small audiences with a bunch of explosive live shows, this album sounds more self-assured, delivering bona-fide classics such as the title track and their signature tune 'City Is Dead'. In typically uncompromising Tassie style, the band did not see out the end of the year though. Having made their point concisely and definitively, they disbanded to pursue other interests and musical ventures, Aldous eventually relocating to the even bleaker environs of Greymouth, on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island.