A band that cribs
its name from a James Joyce story are always going to attract
a certain level of disdain; but get past their clever-clogs appellation
and there's a deeply wrought cask of oak-lined Americana-blues.
Sounding like the missing link between wailing Jack/monged Meg
and Ol' Dirty Beard Banhart, songs like 'You Losin' Out' and
'Fail Hard to Regain' are stomping rackets that have the demeanour
of a hard-drinking song and the heart of a hopeless romantic.
Stating their influences as ranging from San Francisco punk-rockers
Operation Ivy through to backcountry stalwarts in the mould of
Skip James and Clarence Ashley, Two Gallants understand just
how much bite to add to their Southern-stew without it losing
its distinctive texture; a sweat-blues gumbo that could have
just as easily emerged from New Orleans or Seattle. Throw down!
- Boomkat
__________________________
San Francisco's
gritty bards deliver timeless stories of desperation on stunning
debut. Pulling their name from a James Joyce story not only speaks
to Two Gallants' ambition, but to their lived-in, timeless sound.
These folk-punk troubadours, Adam Stephens (guitar/vocals/harmonica)
and Tyson Vogel (drums) began their journey in 2002 playing impromptu
gigs outside San Francisco's public transportation terminals.
The band's desperately emotive debut, 'The Throes', is the stuff
rail riders and Kerouac would have rave about, delivered in a
drunken Pogues-meet-Dylan-on-amphetamines mess of wonder. Songs
like "My Madonna" and "Nothing To You" highlightStephen's
ability to craft rustic tales of life at the bottom of America's
food chain, heavy on the drinking and heavy on the regret. Pour
a drink and try to keep your tears out of it. - Aaron Kayce /
Paste (4 star rating)
__________________________
The
most essential record of the year, so far. - Rough
Trade
(UK)
'The Throes' also made Rough Trade's top
100 list of 2005
at #13.
__________________________
I
first saw Two Gallants in my kitchen about two years back, which
is not an uncommon story. A lot of folks first came into contact
with this band in their kitchen or a friend's kitchen or on a
corner somewhere in San Francisco. And that's proper, since this
is the most homespun band to come along in a good while. The
finger style guitar that propels the melody makes one think of
Elizabeth Cotton or Mississippi John Hurt, people who've been
dead a long while, people who were genuine folk musicians. What
I mean by folk musicians is that Cotton and Hurt didn't learn
to play off records. They learned to play from folks in their
community. Folk music is from the folks, not from the machine.
And the Two Gallants have tapped into that sap of genuineness.
- Read Collin Ludlow-Mattson's article about Two
Gallants in SF Mesh magazine -- 'Here They Come To Save The Day' __________________________
Hey,
it's two good-looking dudes from San Francisco that's sound exactly
like backwoods-ugly dudes from Nebraska (in the best possible
way). Think Springsteen playing 'Nebraska' style business for
the rest of his days (isn't it nice to forget about that Hanks
AIDS' stuff?) and, instead of the Conan O'Brien guy, he drafted
the dude from Cro-Mags to keep the beat. - Vice
magazine
(7" review - rating = 9)
__________________________
CMJ 2005: Bands
On The Run
The Two Gallants proved to be another of the sort of band one
hopes to discover at CMJ, something with obvious staying power.
A guitar and drums two-piece that applies heavy volume to a blend
of country, folk and blues in a manner reminiscent of the early
work of "No Depression" genre pioneers Uncle Tupelo,
they're from San Francisco, though their Americana sound suggests
the South or Midwest. It's no surprise they've just signed to
the highly successful Nebraska independent label Saddle Creek.
- Tricia McDermott / CBS
news __________________________
CMJ hangover post
: Two gallants was definitely the best show i saw. i could watch
them over and over and over and over again. i saw them in april
and was pretty much transfixed despite the fact i didn't know
any songs at the time. seriously, if i make a list of best shows
of '05 - they might be #1. they're like neil young/kurt cobain/alt
rock goodness. - Daily
Refill __________________________
CMJ Weekend : on
Friday were Two Gallants. They put on one of the best performances
we saw all week. With just drums and a guitar with Adam Stevenson's
distressed voice, they played a set of contemporary Dylanesque
Americana that was remarkably articulate and precise. From everything
we heard this week, these two are the most likely to go on and
stand the test of time. - Gothamist __________________________
If rock music is
all about transience, how can a song born decades ago still rev
up the engines of romance? "Tangled Up in Blue", for
instance, is a tale of fading love, but the power and significance
of the song itself is timeless. Rock 'n' roll is often an expression
of youth or youth's passing, but when music (or any art) endures,
its magnetism is only amplified with the passage of years. For
that reason, and because the best songs are usually pinned by
the listener to some quintessential moment, the classics become
classic. Passion is a fleeting feeling, but the best art will
evoke that feeling with every exposure. So when youth produces
a work of such force, when the raw or supposedly naïve artist
comes up with something universal, critics and fans rejoice.
We want to latch on to a beautiful thing before its green genius
withers under the glare of success. Such is the case with Two
Gallants' debut The Throes. The San Francisco duo responsible
for this gut-wrenching musical tragedy both just turned 21, yet
somehow their musical hindsight extends far beyond recent memory
and taps into a rusty vein swollen with grief, heartache and
violent desperation. - Pitchfork
Media (rating : 8.5)
__________________________
On this San Francisco
duo's debut, childhood pals Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel channel
early-twentieth-century blues, folkies such as Bob Dylan and
Leonard Cohen, and current indie punk-and they play all the instruments.
Highlight: the brutally witty Irish-folk-flavored title ballad.
- Rolling
Stone (***)
__________________________
The Violent Femmes
are a fondly remembered band for many. With spiky, short and
mostly acoustic rock, played primarily by a three piece band,
their biggest problem was listenability - a whole album grew
to be tough work. Two Gallants, two 21 year olds, who provide
all the drums, guitar, vocals and harmonica, fix that in one
sweep on their remarkable debut. For anyone who prefers Johnny
Cash to punk, this is how the White Stripes should sound, like
a less bluesy Black Keys. The sound is raw and exciting, made
by two men who've known each other since they were 5 - every
move is anticipated, every venture supported by the other. If
early Dylan had found himself sitting in the studio with Ryan
Adams, something like this may have resulted. Excellent, country-blues
tinged genius at play, captured perfectly - with enough madness
and spikiness to recall greats like Creedence Clearwater Revival,
Leonard Cohen and the Violent Femms at their best. ACE rating
9/10. - Mike Rea / Adult
Contemporary (UK). Made the 2005 Best list : If early
Dylan had found himself sitting in the studio with Ryan Adams,
something like this may have resulted. Excellent, country-blues
tinged genius at play, captured perfectly - with enough madness
and spikiness to recall greats like Creedence Clearwater Revival,
Leonard Cohen and the Violent Femmes at their best. For anyone
who prefers Johnny Cash to punk, this is how the White Stripes
should sound.
__________________________
