Style: Progressive Rock, Art Rock, Pop (Clean Vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull
Country: United Kingdom
Release date: 11 September 2026

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As I’ve been consuming tons of new music over the last year, I’ve epiphanized that I really like synths in my prog. The synth work of prog metal favorites VOLA and Ihlo glimmer with starry atmospheres, weaving layers of depth to soundscapes that wouldn’t be nearly as dynamic without their gorgeous keys. Dream Theater’s “Take the Time” features an up-tempo synth solo that grooves in tandem with the almighty guitar, and Frost*’s “Milliontown” blends shining solos and atmospheres to offer up one of my absolute favorite prog rock epics. When done right, synths allow a band to bend atmosphere at will to find the best suited sound for their intended purpose. 

So, with the new synth-heavy release Parallel Lives from UK trio Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate, I naturally was intrigued. Parallel Lives continues to harbor the band’s mix of modern and original rock elements, taking the colorful 80s pop sound of Genesis and injecting artsy grooves, rhythmic vocal lines, and modern classical instrumentation in the flute and piccolo to forge a unique identity. Parallel Lives serves as a creative outlet in the face of adversity for vocalist/guitarist Malcolm Galloway, pouring themes of mental health and shaken identities into a deceptively bright sounding record.

Parallel Lives opens with “My Blistering Mind”, a succinct track that takes no time in showcasing Hats Off Gentlemen’s identity. Quick rhythmic chords in the keys bounce in tandem with the prominent bass, creating a poppy atmosphere as the rhythm guitars drive with shining accented eighth notes. The instruments build atmosphere together to create a stage for the vocals, which sit front and center in the mix. Galloway’s approach to singing feels less like, well, singing, and more like breathy spoken word delivery, trading melodic composition for an accented, more literal sense of lyrical vocalization. “Just Another Thing” opts for this rhythmic vocal delivery over repeated axis chord progressions; the thing is, because the vocals overtake the instrumentals in the production, Galloway’s rhythmic and vocal inconsistencies become increasingly prominent. These inconsistencies make listening to the vocal-heavy tracks a bit rough on the ears, with the intermittent backing vocals not doing much to help lift the main vocal melodies up. Luckily, the instrumentation throughout Parallel Lives helps make up for the vocal lines, with intricate drum work and classical solos that show off the band’s creative composition. 

The instrumental tracks across Parallel Lives are easily the standouts of the album: “Intermission” showcases a bright, proggy jazz break with light, flitting cymbals and rhythmically-unaligned piano work that makes me believe I’m enjoying an old fashioned at a dimly light speakeasy. “Never Really Felt Like Home” features flute and bass flute solos from Kathryn Thomas that show off a gorgeous dynamism in her rhythmic phrasing, and “Pretty Blue Fox” finally showcases some of the fun atmospheric synths I was hoping for across the entire record. Even “Eversion” dips into prog territory with oddly-stacked synth lines almost racing one another, adding excitement between the rest of the track’s repeated poppy chord progressions. The poppy production on Parallel Lives largely defines the record’s identity, with the production used as a tool to push the repeated, catchy verse-chorus forms of its tracks. Because of this choice, however, some of the admittedly groovy and jazzy breaks in tracks like “Smile, Smile, Smile” lose a bit of their dynamism. Despite the overall repetitive nature of Parallel Lives, these instrumental tracks show off the actual creativity behind Hats Off Gentlemen, and it’s a shame there couldn’t be more of it across the board. 

As bright synths set the rhythmic floor for Parallel Lives’ creative instrumentation across Parallel Lives. However, despite its colorful composition, I find that the execution falls a bit flat both vocally and through its production—the latter due to the chosen direction rather than its quality. Parallel Lives would make for a great record to find while cycling through the radio with its catchy hooks and easily-remembered choruses, or perhaps a quick way to catch an uplifting vibe, but a couple listens are all one really needs to understand and digest what the album has to offer. 

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Recommended tracks: Never Really Felt Like Home, Intermission, Eversion, Just Another Thing
You may also like: Evership, Syd Arthur, Last Flight To Pluto, Echoes and Signals
Final verdict: 5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Independent

Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate is: 
– Malcolm Galloway (vocals, lead guitar, keyboards)
– Mark Gatland (bass, guitars, keyboards, backing vocals)
– Kathryn Thomas (flute, backing vocals)