Short Reviews [Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate - 2015 - "When The Kill Code Fails"]

2015 saw Galloway return with the same line-up, this time with a science-fiction/artificial intelligence themed concept album. Musically this is a far more diverse album than the debut, with more keyboard layers and synths, and this time we are taken on a musical journey as well as a lyrical one. The delicacy of “Broken Wave” has far more in common with Galloway’s solo work than one would expect from his band project, but it provides a nice delicacy and interlude. My favourite on the album is “Head In A Jar” which is a lovely angular progressive rocker, with an emphasis on the rock side. Lyrics are repeated as Galloway gets more and more angry, and this feels like a direct continuation in style from the debut. The indie attitude is still prevalent for much of the album, which will be quite disconcerting to those who like their prog to be wrapped up in a certain style box with a nice ribbon tied around it. If they had been around in the early Nineties then I am sure that the mighty Organ would have been incredibly vocal proponents of the band as this is the sort of music they lapped up back then. The way they move seamlessly from electro into prog into angular indie rock and flashes of hard rock is always an interesting journey. I can’t say I always really enjoy what they do (“Link” uses a drum machine which should have been taken out the back and destroyed), but I admire them for what they are doing. This is a different refreshing take on the prog scene, and worth investigating for those who want something quite separate from the norm.