Short Reviews [Malcolm Galloway - 2023 - "Metazoa One"]

Malcolm Galloway is probably best known for his progressive rock outfit Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate, but he also releases music as a modern minimalist composer under his own name as well. Here we have his latest track, a 17-minute-long epic from which he is donating all Bandcamp proceeds to Prog The Forest. I have heard some of Malcolm’s other solo pieces and this has somewhat surprised me as he has taken this far more into the progressive arena, away from the ambient, so it is much more in your face than I have come to expect. There are also some extensive sections where it is more overtly electronic than the synth orchestra, and it definitely feels like the bringing together of different genres and styles. The direct approach means this is an incredibly engaging piece of music, with Jean Michel Jarre rubbing shoulders with Tangerine Dream and Vangelis. There are distinct movements within this, the result being one is never really sure where it is going to lead, except that the journey promises to be interesting. My one major complaint is that it is too short, and that the final section ends too abruptly for me as by then I am really into the world being created and I do not want to come back to the real world. It is certainly something which I feel could have been extended further, and I look forward to Malcolm’s next solo piece with great interest as one wonders if he is going to experiment further in this vein or try something different get again.