Search - Two Gallants :: Two Gallants

Powerful third CD of punchy, intense country-blues-folk-punk

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 10/11/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Two Gallants third full-length CD in just over three years continues to mine the percussive drums-guitar-and-voice country-punk of their earlier works, but with an expanded emphasis on dynamics and a step up from the lo-fi production of their debut. Adam Stephens continues to rough out pain and anguish with his vocals, with Tyson Vogel propels most of the tracks with his insistent drumming. The album's highlights are in its contrasts: Stephens weary rasp set to gently picked acoustic guitar and fiddle, languid electric guitar and Dylanesque harmonica underpinned by driving beats, and poetic lyrics that cough up superb lines like "And I've been wondering just who misplaced my soul / there's pockets in my holes."



The opening "The Dreader" has a punch-drunk cadence and sing-song melody that's halfway between a carnival barker's spiel and a sea shanty, fitting for a lyric of a pining sailor who returns home to find his relationship extinguished. The entire album reads of broken hearts and bitter pills, but unlike the self-pity and tears of power pop anguish, Two Gallants' brand is more Catholic and caustic. The gravelly crawl of "Trembling of the Rose" wallows amid acoustic guitar and fiddle with the lyric "So in the hour of my demise / I'll recall your empty eyes / You know I died / The day you set me free," and "Despite What You've Been Told" provides a dose of self-flagellation with "I drag my mind through sheets of shame / Blame myself, forgive the game / That's how we deal with boys like me."



"Fly Low Carrion Crow" finds Stephens vocal dropped to a low, hoarse whisper as he contemplates an eternity of painful memories; the atmospheric backing track of acoustic guitar, cymbals and shards of feedback is particularly striking. Their new songs aren't quite as lengthy as earlier works (the average track here is about five minutes), but they're still wordy and chock-full of imagery. The songs make strong individual impressions, but strung together at album length, they get a bit exhausting. Then again, when your heart's been dragged around, too much may still not be enough. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]"