Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate "Out Of Mind"

Welcome once more to the Closet Concert Arena fellow progheads!  As autumn makes her descent into November I am reminded as to why I prefer the land closer to the equator...but no worries; the temperature in the prog garden tends to stay warm and soothing...

...and this week I am happy to revisit an old friend I discovered here in the prog garden almost three years ago.  Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate released album number four, "Out Of Mind," in early October.  Since I have enjoyed all the previous musings of HOGIA, there is little risk in extending my UK visit another seven days for some music therapy...

My first foray into the garden this week is listening to "When I Was a Ship," a very insightful piece that rolls off the piano keys as eloquently as silk gloves peeled from elegant hands.  The song crawls inside the "mind" of a warship as it details all the memories--good and bad--held within.  The momentum builds with the aid of some dead-on drum work that rings of a military theme, but that piano never walks far from center stage.  Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate lives in a realm of the prog garden few enter; Malcolm is truly an independent writer and thinker.  I do, however, pick up aromatics of early Pink Floyd as the song floats through time and mood changes.  With HOGIA there tends to be consistent clouds, but the silver lining is always nestled safely inside...

Next serving to flow through the headphones is  "Stand Up."  Quirky by HOGIA standards, this song comes at you from around that blind corner--and the flute is an absolutely perfect fit!  A tune that gets in your face about the dark closet that is history, complete with all her skeletons.  One of the things I really enjoy about HOGIA's music is the life lesson tucked into each composition, just like the fortune cookie you order Chinese food to get.  To that end I am reminded of Seconds Before Landing, another band that crawls inside your mind and opens doors that encourage real thought process...

Liner Notes...Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate originates in London, Great Britain.  The line-up is founder Malcolm Galloway who also produces, and Mark Gatland.  This duo is often joined live by Kathryn Thomas (she of the amazing flute) and other guest musicians.

There is a lot behind the scenes with HOGIA; I have written previously of the charity work and fund raising Malcolm does and his relentless touring schedule.  With endorsements from many in the prog garden, including Steve Hackett, I am quite certain HOGIA's catalog will grow beyond four albums and theirs will be a more well known name--despite it length...

Last song on the buffet this week is "If You Think This World Is Bad..." an instrumental piece that has a jazzy groove emitting aromatics of The Alan Parsons Project.  In a "not quite tension filled but suspenseful nonetheless" way you get the feeling there is something or someone following you down an endless corridor as you find every door of escape locked.  There is a brilliance to this piece you need to hear to fully comprehend; once again Malcolm strays into territory that comes off skew to HOGIA's repertoire, but after letting it pour over your mind like an artisan beer sampling, you realize it's just the prog garden being stretched an acre or two...

Learn more about Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate and purchase "Out Of Mind" at their website Hats Off Gentlemen.  Purchase this and  their other music  as well at HOGIA bandcamp.  The band also has a Facebook  page and Twitter  @itsadequate  so you can keep up with the band and all things HOGIA.

To get you in the buying mood I went with the teaser this week.  It really is the best way to get a true taste of what Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate is...and once the sounds flows freely through your auditory canals you will need to quench that thirst.  The many moods of HOGIA are served up on individual canvas works, each with its own vibrant energy.  The pendulum swings to extremes as the music waltzes through your inner cranium...just let it take you where you know you want to go...

                      

Another week has indeed fallen off the calendar, sinking into the abyss off the final turn on the track
that is 2018.  Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate is for me an elixir that quenches a complex thirst. The canvas is hit with many a splash of vibrant color one minute and several hues of blue to grey to black the next...and each rides an emotional wave that carries across the prog garden like a newly discovered patch of crop circles; the wonder and awe is matched only by the calming beauty you have just discovered.  "Out Of Mind" has brought the music of HOGIA to a new level as Malcolm, Mark, and Kathryn each strut their progressive stuff...and the prog garden flourishes in the glow.

Of course, no time to rest on our laurels...so much harvesting left in the prog garden as the 2018 season races to its inevitable climax.  So the search for all things prog continues...until next time...