The album opens with "Century Rain." As expected with Hats Off Gentlemen, the first sounds to permeate the headphones are understated yet extremely captivating. The song melts over your ears like icing on a warm danish, running through your auditory canals and filling your being with a sense of ease. Hats Off Gentlemen has mastered the fine art of squeezing the most from the least; there is so much going on in this tune with only three people contributing to the final product. The flute is mesmerizing as it floats over the the entire piece...
Perusing the playlist I discover a song with a most intriguing name; "Nanobotomas." Malcolm follows in the footsteps of Alan Parsons with his ability to construct a concept album. The theme here is the delicate structure of civilization viewed through several different lenses. Here we are struck by the imagery of the human body being overtaken by nanobots...self destruction from within. Top notes of Porcupine Tree and the ominous moods of Pink Floyd skitter through this song. Let this one play on a loop a few times while you sink into it...or perhaps it is sinking into you...
Liner Notes...Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate remains as always Malcolm Galloway on vocals and Mark Gatland on bass and Chapman stick. Both play guitars, keyboards, and synthesizers, and Kathryn Thomas plays flute and contributes vocals.
I have listened to this band from the beginning; their growth--both musically and lyrically--is impressive and refreshing. There are few bands that bring so much to every song using so little--and that is an underappreciated accomplishment. Each note, lyric, sound, and even silence is deliberate and thought out. Hats Off Gentlemen give Steely Dan a run for their money in this regard...even the album artwork is stunning and thought-provoking...
You can learn more about Hats Off Gentlemen at their website HatsOffGentlemen and bandcamp.
There is also Twitter @itsadequate to learn the latest and keep up with the band's goings on.
Finally this week I listened to the title cut, "Nostalgia for Infinity." The soft guitar opening streams gently through the headphones, setting the listener up for a journey across the prog garden as smooth and dreamy as it is surreal and introspective. Kathryn's flute is hypnotic and rides across the top of the song like a siren, calling you deeper into a dream. Malcolm breaks through the veil with strong lyrics reinforced with steady percussion and guitar work. Once again Hat Off Gentlemen approaches the prog garden from a different vantage point, much the way Brian Eno was so adept at doing in his early influential years...
In the spirit of social distancing, my listening choice this week is a lock down version of "Century Rain." The bass line really shines through here, and of course Kathryn's flute mastery is simply beautiful. I'm not surprised Hats Off Gentlemen posted a "pandemic" version of this song; they have been extremely involved in so many social issues since their inception. Sit six feet away from your neighbor and enjoy...
So fellow progheads another week falls though the hourglass. Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate took us on a very insightful journey across the prog garden this week. Their music is inspiring, thought-provoking, introspective, and a pleasure to listen to. Delving into a concept leaving no stone unturned and no vantage point unobserved, the music engulfs your mind, body, and spirit...and that is why the prog garden is so rich.
Yet travel on I must as the search for all things prog continues...until next time...
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