Short Reviews [Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate - 2020 - "Feeling Great"]

Apparently, this EP is unrelated to the band’s next album, ‘The Confidence Trick’, but contains some songs written during lockdown. The first three feature both Malcolm Galloway and Mark Gatland, but the final number is an old one which Malcolm recorded some 10 years ago and was discovered by a fan on YouTube who asked for it to be released properly. The band admit they don’t have the original masters anymore, so it isn’t up to their normal standard, but have put it on here as a bonus. The EP is just 18 minutes in length, but the four pieces show some very different sides of the band, who often utilize guests, but this time have recorded just on their own. There are times when they are very Floydian, but the listener has quite a shock going from the almost laid back “Struggling” into “Callisto Cuddle Sponge” which has much more of a dance feel and is often led by a Chapman Stick. This song feels quite at odds with the others, while closer “Skyline” also has a dance feel, so it is almost as if the first two songs are by one group and the last two by another. Certainly, there is quite a difference in the musical direction, while the latter does have something of a demo feel as well (perhaps not surprising given its origins). Consequently, I am not sure if this is a good place to start when investigating HOGIA, and perhaps ‘Nostalgia For Infinity’ would be a better place to start, but given that all their material is available on Bandcamp why not give them a try?