Rock with Brains?
I had my doubts. Then I started in on the soft, delicate first track and just eased into it. Then it made me fill my pants with a sudden jump in tempo, volume and urgency. In less than five minutes, The Uncertainty Principle by Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate had achieved one aim. Making the uncertainty principle concretely real.
An the album develops from there. Alt rock was something I have never delved into much, but The Uncertainty Principle is perhaps the perfect introduction. “Everything Changed” has a staccato, pummelling feel with bass -line vocals punctuated with powerful chords and lead guitar solos. All jammed like sardines into a song of just over four minutes.
Hats Off Gentlemen (short name, sorry) don't forget the instrumentalists out there with searing, wailing tracks of guitar wonder like “Ultraviolet Catastrophe”. The third track dips its toes into a jazz pond which works. And this is from a old fogey who ain't into jazz. “Cause and Effect (But Not Necessarily in that Order)” drives the instrumentals forward with an almost schizophrenic cat of a track, jazz-like piano and guitars powering through the notes, bolstered by the punch in the jaw of solid power chords. The change up and down of this one track is enough to cause convulsive fits for the unwary. And through in some 1970's style synth, and this is one seriously complex track that fits the theme of the album all the way through. I won't blow the whistle on the rest of “Cause and Effect (But Not Necessarily in that Order)”, because there is some delightful movement.
“The Uncertainty Principle”, the title track, is Hats Off Gentleman at a story-telling peak. With whimsical tunes and vocals simply telling you a yarn, the spell woven through the words and sound drags you into a weird world where you have to wonder what the guy is going to do with a pistol and cyanide. What I really like about this story is the human element Hats Off Gentlemen bring to the album – the human source of much uncertainty in our world.
“One Word That Means The World (Arkhipov)” shifts the whole vibe into the modern age. Melodic, smooth and harmonised, the guitars and vocals are perfect. This is my favourite track on the whole album. Goose-bumps.
In this rock album, the duo Malcolm Galloway and Mark Gatland truly show their erudition (my big word for the day). This album is insanely varied music with real brains behind the lyrics. I had no idea who the hell Heisenberg was until I read the album description. The fact that Gatland and Galloway have used rock to explore a scientific principle through a myriad of very concrete and human motifs simply blows my synapses into oblivion. They have done it so well and it works so wonderfully. This is an album to ruminate on. To let your mind play with and explore.
It is beautiful.
It is deep.
I will be paying more attention to Hats Off Gentlemen Its Adequate in the future.
A side not – you can follow Hats Off Gentlemen on Bluesky.