THE LIGHT OF ANCIENT MISTAKES

Maybe WE Could Do Better

We'll See

In "The Light of Ancient Mistakes" -UK trio HATS OFF GENTLEMEN IT'S ADEQUATE's seventh album release- we are drawn into a foreboding, disturbing, unsettling world in which we begin to realize we have only ourselves to blame.

But plenty of villains and rascals and demons to go around.

All set to impeccably engineered, mostly-restrained, Floyd-inspired, brooding music with lyrics telling tales of quiet horror and devastation. Malcolm Galloway- lyricist, composer, multi-instrumentalist- draws from a wide-ranging booklist which inspires him to reflect on our current world conditions.

And he doesn't much care for what he sees- so much we could do to improve ourselves and our world, our relationships, our politics, our sense of connectedness- and we don't do those things.

Why?

Consider this album HATS OFF GENTLEMEN IT'S ADEQUATE's response- not an 'answer' because there may be none or at least none most of us wish to acknowledge (cowardice? let someone else take action? hopelessness?)- to the WHY of it all.

Homophobia/AI/Environmental Ruin/Desperation/Alienation

In poetic and musical form, HATS OFF GENTLEMEN IT'S ADEQUATE addresses demagogues we by our inert responses empower, burning of the world, funding the eight hundred years of military madness which may well light the skies with our own demise- and we are confronted time and again whether in music or in lyrical reveries with our own complicity.

It's a Tough Album

Yet it's a powerful- and perhaps overlong- experience, putting on the headphones and hearing "The Light of Ancient. Mistakes". Pondering whether WE can (and will) do better than we have been.

Musically I do frequently hear the mournful and brooding sounds and the Strat-flavored textures of Pink Floyd, but also, notably in my favorite track, "Walking to Aldebaran", some edgy, heavier progressive metal-style passages with complex riffs. Lots of keyboards, with layers of synths and strings and held, foreboding bass lines, grooving and active bass lines, and some tasty drumming.

The vocals are often lamenting and mournful, considering the subject matter mentioned, with occasional use of octaves and harmony to add heft and texture.

Special mention also must be made for "imtiredandeverythinghurts", a deeply self-revelatory song that has personally challenged me to reconsider using the ubiquitous (and quite awkward, it turns out) question, "How are you?" or "How's it going?"

When one is suffering, what is the proper response? Is the question sincere...or is it similar to the meaningless, "What's up?" with which person greets person.

Not a Literary Thesis

I'm often tempted, when faced with an immensity of questions and literary references and Big Ideas, to begin to unpack these. In "The Light of Ancient Mistakes" we find all these and more, as well as impeccably engineered and produced musical greatness.

But forget it. Malcolm has provided a lot of information- with some wonderful illustrations- about the tracks on this album, and I encourage you to take time to read, and to think about these things.

My Conclusions

Quite a heavy and passionate offering from HATS OFF GENTLEMEN IT'S ADEQUATE, brimming with excellent music and thought-provoking lyrics. I want MORE like "Walking to Aldebaran", as this sounds like a promising departure for the band. And maybe the album. is too long overall- but that's so subjective on my part.

Can we humans do better? Will we?

My rating is nine dystopian solar systems out of ten.

HOGIA are back with their seventh album, with many of the songs this time inspired by books. The duo of Malcolm Galloway (vocals, lead guitar, keyboards, synths, programming, percussion, drums) and Mark Gatland (bass guitar, slide guitars, keyboards, synths, Chapman Stick, backing vocals, percussion, drums) have again been joined by flautist Kathryn Thomas for three tracks. I have heard quite a lot of Malcolm's material over the years, both with his more classical head on and with HOGIA, and what has taken me with this album is not only the sheer diversity of material on offer but the depth, as this an incredibly complex album which still refuses to sit solely within what many people consider to be prog, with far more indie sounds and styles. The full version, which includes radio cuts of some numbers, is more than 80 minutes in length, containing 19 songs, but never feels over long or dragging as one is brought deeply into their world.

The instrumental "Avrana Kern Is Made Of Ants" just belts along and is quite at odds with much of the rest of the album, which goes between space rock and indie, experimental prog and psychedelia, always ensuring the listener needs to pay close attention to what is going on. The centrepiece of the album is 'Walking To Aldebaran', inspired by the science fiction novella of the same name by Adrian Tchaikovsky, moving from prog metal (I love the flute during the introduction where Kathryn almost loses control) to more theatrical elements. Malcolm's vocal style really works well with this over-the-top styling, as he brings something of a David Byrne approach to it. The song is sung from the perspective of an astronaut losing his sanity as he wanders an alien labyrinth, gradually being transformed into a monster, and there is a darkness and menace here, with the strange experimental piano providing a harshness which fits well. One of my favourite science fiction writers growing up was Philip K Dick, and "The Man Who Japed" has its title taken from the novel of the same name, but not every book is science fiction, although that is a common thread.

There are plenty of instrumentals, all working with strong direction which can change with no notice whatsoever as Malcolm and Mark are never keen to rest for too long. The result is a modern progressive album which never feels regressive but is always moving forward in ways which can be quite unexpected yet always melodic and fascinating. This will not be for those who want their music of today to sound as if it were released 50 years ago, but if you enjoy a more modern approach then this is one of HOGIA's most interesting and complete albums yet.