San Francisco might be getting a lot of attention in the independent music world for its burgeoning psychedelic and garage rock adorned music scene these days, but Two Gallants is one duo from The City By The Bay has been kicking ass since the early 2000s with an exquisite mix of electrifying blues and heart-on-the-sleeve folk. Consisting of Adam Stephens on vocals and guitar with Tyson Vogel on drums, Two Gallants are back with their fifth studio album We Are Undone, and it’s already in the running to be one of the best albums to come out in 2015. They’ve really turned it up a notch with a bunch of scorching rock ‘n’ roll tracks, along with a few ballads.
Being brothers in the name of rock ‘n’ roll since their early teens, Stephens and Vogel show how much they’ve come along the artistic path since their debut album, The Throes, hit the music scene in 2004. Still raw but rhythmically forceful, Two Gallants keep a dark edge that has always stuck with their sound, but they achieve the near impossible by putting even more feeling into songs that exude heart and soul. Haunting lyrics that shoot shivers up your spine are all over the album as well. It’s bound to give you all sorts of feelings, but that’s what good music does.
Snow, snow, snow and more snow. New England has become a shade of white, as if it was part of the planet Hoth in Star Wars. Before you saddle up your tauntaun and try to make it past the first marker, give a listen to my top tracks off of the Album Of The Week.
That opening riff on “Incidental” has a certain groove that stays with you, and the tale of a woman’s surgery at a hospital gives the track a taste of the macabre. Catchy in all the right ways, “Fools Like Us” is another anthem for the outcast. The chorus of “fools like us just don’t belong” is bound to stick in your head after the first listen. The title track off of We Are Undone has an introduction that’s a tad avant garde and then kicks things into high gear when the guitar and drums combine for some truly powerful stuff. One of a few tracks that includes a grand piano, “Invitation To The Funeral” is a deadly ballad with eerie tendencies and spooky vibes.
On April 29, Two Gallants will set Brighton Music Hall ablaze in Allston, Mass. Until they come through your friendly neighborhood music venue, grab yourself a copy of We Are Undone. It’ll grip your soul with haunting effect.
Two Gallants’ Website: twogallants.com
