Album Review: Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate – The Light of Ancient Mistakes (Glass Castle Recordings)

‘The Light of Ancient Mistakes’ is the seventh album from progressive/alt-rock and experimental band, Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate. It will be released on September 9th, 2023, via Glass Castle Recordings.

A huge release that features fifteen tracks and clocks in at nearly seventy minutes long, Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate have gone epic here and the result is both imaginative and eclectic. Filled with references, inspired by books, and utilising both real and unreal tales, The Light of Ancient Mistakes is an impressive release.

It begins with some groovy and peppy rhythm, the stranger aspects of this band’s sound front and centre for Sold the Peace. The excitability in the melody offset by vocals delivered in a super story-like way. By contrast, the title track is so dramatic, almost easy listening thanks to the softness of the melody and the quiet vocal style. Even as it grows in power in the latter half, it retains a sense of wonder and relaxation.

The first of three tracks to be inspired by Adrian Tchaikovsky’s ‘Children of Time’ series, Avrana Kern Is Made Of Ants is a fast and sci-fi infused number. Arguably as weird as it gets for Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate. Yet, there’s no denying the other two; ‘The Requisitioner and the Wonder’ and ‘Gothi and Gethli’, have plenty of eccentricities about them too. Of course, your familiarity to the source material is important here but that doesn’t mean the musicality on show won’t resonate deeply.

If there’s one thing everyone can say about this album, it’s that it seeps into the soul. Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate are incredibly imaginative and this album constantly surprises.

Take the three-part instrumental series, The Anxiety Machine as an example. Interspersed throughout the album, each serves to heighten the sense of wonder the entire album has.

The childhood experiences of David Cornwell, who wrote as John le Carré, serves as inspiration for Sixteen Hugless Years. Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate continuing to be emphatically dramatic and progressive. Whereas The Glamour Boys is wonderfully alternative and has some really impactful lyrical content.

It being inspired by Labour MP Chris Byrant’s book of the same name. Which details the experiences of a group of mostly homosexual or bisexual Conservative MPs who argued against appeasement, despite the threats from Chamberlain’s government to expose their secrets. Many went on to risk, and in some cases lose their lives in the Second World War.

It’s a tough track to follow, so Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate change the vibe completely with a foot-tapper called Imtiredandeverythinghurts. A track that features excellent fuzzy alt-groove. The tone of this track does have a raw honesty that comes through the vocals nicely, but it’s the bass that really hooks in.

A big highlight of the entire record though is Walking To Aldebaran. A track inspired by the science fiction novella of the same name by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Here, Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate stretch their progressive-metal muscles. Sounding heavier than usual but pushing themselves to be even more erratic and odd. It’s an amazing piece of music that challenges.

Exhausted? Few could blame you, as it’s been one hell of a trawl and it’s not done yet. Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate have a few more special offerings to share before wrapping things up. Starting with a tribute to the space probe, Goodbye Cassini. The major notable thing about this track is the use of a flute.

Following that, it’s The Man Who Japed (named after the Philip K Dick novel), a track that burns brightly with melodic energy. Before Burn the World makes its climate change-based point effectively clear. A sombre closing track and another highlight of an album that can rightfully be called one of 2023’s most creative releases.

Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate – The Light of Ancient Mistakes Track Listing:

1. Sold The Peace
2. The Light Of Ancient Mistakes
3. Avrana Kern Is Made Of Ants
4. The Anxiety Machine Part 1
5. Sixteen Hugless Years
6. The Requisitioner And The Wonder
7. The Glamour Boys
8. Gothi And Gethli
9. Imtiredandeverythinghurts
10. The Anxiety Machine Part 2
11. Walking To Aldebaran
12. Goodbye Cassini
13. The Anxiety Machine Part 3
14. The Man Who Japed
15. Burn The World

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