A REVIEW AND A NOSTALGIC JOURNEY
It was one of those afternoons in 2006 that I spent at my local record store. I was recommended to check out an album by a young folk rock band from California, San Francisco to be precise. A band that has chosen its name from a short story of James Joyce’s „Dubliner“. It was already their second recording, but they were completely unknown to me and what I was about to experience should blow my mind.
"What The Toll Tells", as well as their debut record „The Throes“ by Two Gallants was music that I have not come across in that way before. The songs that consisted only of Adam Stephens‘ distorted guitar play, his rousing harmonica and his hoarse voice full of pain and suffering combined with Tyson Vogel’s electrifying drumming, told stories about outlaws, losers and murderers in a rough and yet romantic way.
The pounding and rolling opener "Las Cruces Jail" (They are gonna hang me if I stay/ They are gonna shoot me if I run) or the bitter-sweet "Steady Rollin" (But I shot my wife today/Dropped her body in the Frisco bay/I had no choice it was the only way/Death is coming and I’m still running) talk about the hopelessness and cruelty in life, "Last Summer Day" points out racial problems that still exist in today’s America.
Raw rock n roll songs were followed by heartbreaking ballads, sometimes even within one song ("16th Street Dozens"). The record raised to its ultimate climax - the wonderful and politically and religiously denouncing 11 minutes masterpiece "Waves of Grain".
The band has not only proven but also beaten their talent shown on "The Throes" and at the latest when Stephens and Vogel released their acoustic EP "The Scenery of Farewell" a year later, they were in my eyes America’s hottest band.
Two Gallants have been a loyal companion throughout the years. I listened to them when I was happy, I listened to when I was sad, I listened to when I simply wanted to listen to music and enjoy a finger of whiskey. I have not missed a single one of their Viennese gigs.
And they continued recording outstanding music. Their third - simply self-titeld - long player consisted mostly of ballads, dealt with love, loss, pain and broken hearts and included one of my absolutely favorite Gallants song ("The Hand That Held Me Down").
I thus could not wait until their newest record "We are Undone" was released in early February 2015. The album opened with the track that gave the record its name. A rolling blues song that is highly reminiscent of their early work. However, unfortunately, what was about to follow left me a little bit disappointed. The next tunes were unable to tie in with the terrific opener. "Incidental" is a nice pop song, that does not have much to do with typical Gallants songs. The other songs on Side A, "Fools Like Us", "Invitation" and "Some Trouble" all have potential to become bigger hits. They are very melodic paired with a catchy chorus. They are quite dramatically blown up songs that do not stand out from many other bands. It almost seems like that the band is trying to satisfy a larger and broader audience. "We Are Undone" appears less characteristic than the band’s early work.
It is a very good album, there is absolutely no doubt about it, but the magic from their previous issues is somewhat gone. Stephens‘ vivid harmonica play, that shaped songs like "The Throes" or "Up The Country" is almost non-existent on "We Are Undone". Their style of abruptly stopping playing their instruments, only to pick up rolling half a second later is searched for in vain.
Highlight of the album is the wonderful ballad "My Man Go". Told from the perspective of a girl, Adam Stephens sings with such an unbelievable passion about lost love that I got goose pumps from it. In the ruins of my night / I can still pretend / close my eyes / and see my life as it could have been reminded me of events in my own life and those lines sent shivers through my body.
Interestingly enough, the opening songs on each side are by far the two best songs on the album.
In the political "Murder The Season / The Age Nocturna" the bands wants us to stand up and to not be afraid of consquences for our actions and that people should not blindly follow the easy path.
As said before, "We Are Undone" is still a very good piece of music. If I had not already listened to their previous records, I would have fallen in love it. It is just a tad unsatisfying by knowing what this band has already provided.
Nevertheless, I know you are special / each so damn unique and I am already looking forward to learning what this magnificent band will supply in the future. I will be as excited as I was last week when I will buy their next record.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10 grizzlies.
Do not forget to check them out in Vienna on March 9, 2015
European Tour Dates 2015
February 19 Dublin
February 20 Manchester, UK
February 21 Glasgow, UK
February 22 Nottingham, UK
February 23 Leeds, UK
February 24 Bristol, UK
February 25 London, UK
February 27 Cologne, Germany
February 28 Schorndorf, Germany
March 1 Frankfurt, Germany
March 2 Brussels, Belgium
March 3 Amsterdam, Netherlands
March 5 Paris, France
March 6 Lausanne, Switzerland
March 7 Zurich, Switzerland
March 8 Munich, Germany
March 9 Vienna, Austria
March 11 Berlin, Germany
March 12 Hamburg, Germany
March 13 Copenhagen, Denmark