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Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate — The Light of Ancient Mistakes
(Bandcamp no#, 2023, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2024-01-05

The Light of Ancient Mistakes Cover art

The last album by Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate (The Confidence Trick in 2022) featured many themes dealing with contemporary life and politics, but for The Light of Ancient Mistakes the focus is on science fiction much of the time, specifically stories by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Iain M. Banks, and Philip K. Dick. Other topics include the real-life experiences of several individuals, including David Cornwell (AKA John le Carré), Labour MP Chris Byrant, and band leader Malcolm Galloway. As for the music, Galloway contributes vocals, lead guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, programming, percussion, and drums; Mark Gatland plays bass guitar, guitar, slide guitar, keyboards, synths, Chapman Stick, percussion, and drums as well as singing backing vocals; and Kathryn Thomas plays flute on three tracks. Stylistically, it’s a refinement of their previous work — no drastic changes, just a band getting better and better at what they do. As it happened, when the album arrived, I was in the middle of reading Tchaikovsky’s Children of Time series, and seeing song titles like “Avrana Kern Is Made of Ants” and “Gothi and Gethli” predisposed me to like the album, though honestly it’s good enough that even listeners who aren’t fans of the books which inspired the music should be able to enjoy it. Galloway’s singing keeps getting stronger, and the lyrics are well written. Several of the tracks are instrumental, and these provide some of my favorite parts. The blending of insistent rock rhythms with electronics is very well done, and not quite like any other band out there. If you haven’t heard Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate, The Light of Ancient Mistakes is a great place to start.

Filed under: New releases, 2023 releases

Related artist(s): Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate, Malcolm Galloway

More info
http://hatsoffgentlemen.bandcamp.com/album/the-light-of-ancient-mistakes

 

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