Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate, a favourite act of this website (Malcolm Galloway & Mark Gatland bringing intelligent rock joy to the Lazland household) release their eighth album, The Uncertainty Principle, exploring the idea of uncertainty. It recognises that certainty is, overall, comfortable, but can often be misleading and dangerous. As the great sages said – be careful what you wish for, and I remember enjoying this theme as the central tenet of the fourth novel in Frank Herbert’s Dune sequence, God Emperor, with Leto providing his subjects with millennia of certainty – it was, of course, mind numbingly boring, and its (his) end led to a mass scattering and chaos.
The title refers to Heisenberg’s 1927 uncertainty principle overturning the perception that science could provide an ever more precise description of our world, quantum physics upending many shibboleths. It also deals with the importance of acknowledging uncertainty in our interpersonal relationships. We have eleven new pieces of music, some of which I am able, with the kind permission of the band, to share with you in advance of the official release date of 4th March. To get this album, pop along to https://hatsoffgentlemen.bandcamp.com/album/the-uncertainty-principle
There is an album preview video released, and I embed this below before we get going with the music.
We start off with Certainty, and this is embedded below. Note the delicate start to proceedings discussing the comforts of our reality, the predictability of it, the core theme and the stable notes washing over us. There is an orchestral feel, and a ghostly guitar solo, and I will state here that the guitar work on the entire album is stunning, as complete a performance as I have heard. The intensity builds before we get an explosion halfway through as uncertainty fills the ether and our consciousness. I love the march before the killer guitar solo screams out. An extremely strong start to proceedings.
Everything Changed follows, and has a deep heavy feel to it, the type of post punk hard jazz vibe I love in this outfit, the bass pulsing around this track, the keyboards swirling, the guitar lead here again reaching some delicious heights. The closing seconds are quite delicate and rather gorgeous.
The Ultraviolet Catastrophe was played on my radio show recently and this class instrumental is embedded below for you to enjoy. The subject of the song was a failure of classical physics to explain the blackbody radiation curve, subsequently solved by quantum physics. It is a short track, sub-three minutes, but the dark and foreboding riffs portray most effectively the chaos surrounding the traditionalists failure. A great piece of heavy progressive rock, with some very deft fret work.
Copenhagen refers to a disputed conversation between Werner Heisenberg, the pioneer of the uncertainty principle, and a leader of the German nuclear programme, and his former mentor, Niels Bohr. The start displays more of that lightness of touch underpinned by a rumbling bass riff, and some interesting sound effects, Galloway narrating thoughtfully as ever, but when the pair disagree, the music takes a darker energetic turn, and there is a gorgeous crying guitar solo, the sadness oozing out of the speaker.
Cause and Effect (but not necessarily in that order) is a fantastic title, and refers, I think to the way quantum theory has upended so many scientific assumptions, reversing the order of the universe. There is a marvellous bass thumping the arrival of the track, the keys and drums combining to a playful jazz infused bath.
The title track follows, the longest piece on the album. The music on this is stunning, certainly Floydian in its intent and execution, the guitar reminiscent of that fine band, and Galloway’s vocals have a touch of the Waters about them. The lyrics direct Moe Berg, the American spy and former professional baseball player, in the first person, sent to attend a lecture by Heisenberg, at which Berg was supposed to decide whether to assassinate him, essentially if the spy decided that Heisenberg had allowed the Germans to realise their dream of nuclear bomb capability. It is great to hear Galloway’s wife, Kathryn Thomas, playing flute on this track, adding her sense of classical drama to a play within a play. The closing passage is the come down from the decision not to kill, interesting in its effects.
Inside the Atom follows. Listeners who are familiar with Galloway’s solo minimalist classical work will recognise the manner of the opening passage, spartan but with impact, especially the guitar notes, lead and rhythm. The main guitar solo takes us on a fascinating tour of our inner universe, the building blocks of all matter. This track must surely be a strong contender for the 2025 “instrumental of the year” award in December on the website.
The Think Tank is instantly darker, chugging riffs and swirling keys beneath a man planning a nuclear bomb facing uncertainty about his actions, interestingly melding the commonplace actions of the daily routine such as having lunch with the outcomes of his plans, destruction.
One Word That Means the World (Arkhipov) has featured on one of my (now sadly discontinued) vlogs. This is a beefed-up version of the song released last year, and it is embedded below. It tells the story of the Russian nuclear submarine officer whose refusal to obey orders might well have led to the world avoiding Armageddon. It is a wonderful piece of music with strong classic rock sensibilities in its riffs and mood, and I love the descriptive vocals on it, especially the very catchy chorus, Gatland pushing the song along relentlessly.
Between Two Worlds is the penultimate piece on the album. The piano which opens is so delicate and fragile, and Galloway’s vocals match that mood perfectly, futures changing within the infinite possibilities of infinite universes, the certainties of black and white upended. I think this is such a gorgeous melody-driven song, a perfect fusion of classical and art rock. Galloway tells us that he is not very brave, doesn’t want to leave, but I think the fact that he lives so creatively with the painful condition he has tells us the precise opposite.
We close with Living With Uncertainties, which features an incredible guitar solo, full of positivity, knowing that, in fact, not knowing our paths and directions can be a positive, something to cry out and thank either the deity or universe of your choice. Backing vocals on this are provided by Kathryn and Ethan Galloway, and it is the perfect closer to the album, melodic, upbeat, and full of positivity about the future.
HOGIA have delivered once again. Over the past few years, they have developed into one of my favourite acts, and The Uncertainty Principle merely serves to strengthen that bond. Intelligent music, masterfully played, it is very highly recommended.