The two leaders of 'Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate', 'Malcolm Galloway' and 'Mark Gatland' continue their progressive adventure with a new opus 'The Light of Ancient Mistakes', after 'Nostalgia for Infinity' dating from 2020 and 'The Confidence Trick' from 2022. This new baby from the English is not a concept album but based on science fiction novels or other works such as that of Labor MP 'Chris Byrant' on homosexual discrimination during the war. And when you put an album of 'Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate' between your ears, you embark on a very diverse journey that you have to tame, little by little, listen after listen: this 'The Light of Ancient Mistakes' does not is no exception to the rule and takes us to different musical regions, which the group itself defines as follows and which I find quite accurate: "We are an eclectic group, combining progressive/alt-rock, classical, experimental, electronic and metallic ". Pioneers of different sounds and atmospheres, for my part, they are in the same movement as an artist like 'Steven Wilson' and do not set limits in their musical peregrinations.
The words eclectic, diversity and heterogeneous are still relevant on this album and, in order not to repeat the titles one after the other (there is not necessarily a link between each), I will classify them by genre : first of all with the opening title 'Sold The Peace' is very catchy and takes us into a funky rhythm while keeping a modern construction with a piano bringing a contemporary side. Quite close in this rhythmic style, we can also add the short instrumental 'Avrana Kern Is Made of Ants' with electronic sounds and the other instrumental 'Gothi and Gethli' in which the piano with an accent, this time, of contemporary jazz accompanies magnificently this title. In opposition, in an atmospheric register, longer compositions delicately rock us with the eponymous title of the album which unfolds a slow tempo in a 'Floydian' atmosphere, the singing of 'Malcolm Galloway' becoming hypnotic and perfectly fitting. to this atmosphere conducive to escape. To this very beautiful title, we can add 'Sixteen Hugless Years' which shows a melancholic side with a poignant singing of 'Malcolm Galloway', the repetition of the three words 'Sixteen Hugless Years' contributing to this gripping climate, then, the instrumental 'The Requisitioner And The Wonder' adds another wonderful soaring and delicate moment and the homage to the space probe with the instrumental 'Goodbye Cassini' is a pure moment of serenity with the gentle flute of 'Kathryn Thomas', the wife of 'Malcolm Galloway'. We can also cite 'Burn The world' closing the opus which takes us on the theme of the environment in a melancholic title with the plaintive singing of 'Malcolm Galloway' also offering a moving 'Floydian' guitar solo in the second part. Throughout the album, the short commas of 'The Anxiety Machine' are interspersed which shows the experimental side of 'Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate' but which sticks well to the science fiction stories with a search for electronic sounds. bringing the cosmos together. Another atmosphere with 'The Glamor Boys' which, on a mid-tempo, shows a relaxed face while denouncing a serious subject on homosexuality, the jazzy moment with muffled sounds adding to this feeling of nonchalance. Conversely, when the subject is intended to be energetic, the short 'imtiredandeverythinghurts' sends a good dose of direct and muscular rock, supporting a subject also painful for 'Malcolm Galloway' suffering from a genetic disease, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, when someone asked the sacrosanct question "how are you?" and who is torn between being honest about these chronic pains or answering in the affirmative so as not to enter into a discussion and risk hurting help the person who asks you, always without bad intention. To finish, I didn't talk about progressive but it is very present, if only through the diversity presented but also within the compositions and 'Walking to Aldebaran' is the perfect illustration of this because we navigate between several styles ranging from rock to metal through jazz, contemporary and atmospheric music and offering us multitudes of twists and turns made of changes of rhythm and intensity, the singing of 'Malcolm Galloway' adding a very original theatrical atmosphere, then, to a lesser extent, the instrumental 'The Man Who Japed' also brings a beautiful prog moment.
In summary, it is yet another magnificent album that the duo of 'Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate' offers us, to which is added the flautist 'Kathryn Thomas' and which requires, like any rich and dense album of this type, to make it your own as you listen, then taking on its full dimension and becoming an essential album in his progressive discography: hats off, lady and gentlemen! | |
