Two Gallants - 'Two Gallants' (Saddle Creek) Released 24/09/07

With this now being Two Gallants third full length album, the decision to make this record a self-titled one draws into line the notion that childhood friends Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel see this album as a retrospective one and a return to the bands beginnings. It has been some five years or so since the band began ploughing it's craft across the club/bar circuit of a bustling San Francisco with little inclination that the couple would still be writing and performing together this far down the line. Since the band signed with Saddle Creek in 2005 a clutch of gigs overseas has seen an appreciative crowd of followers build and has spawned a further two albums leading to invitations to perform at countless festivals across the US, Canada and Europe.

What makes the Two Gallants sound is a union of talents and an ability to read the others musical mind. Opener 'The Deader' talks of love, a complex thing and draws on the troubling times had bridging the gap both mentally and physically to be with that special someone. Erupting with a country/ folk twist on a blues/ rock foundation the mood is set as track after track the synergistic drumming style, consisting of an over eagerness in the cymbal department on many a track by Vogel, is drawn against a kaleidoscope of guitar melodies and haunting vocals. Stephens vocals range seems extensive ranging from a raw, earthy yearning where raw emotions play out through tracks like 'The Hand That Held Me Down' and 'Despite What You've Been Told' to the angelic, melodic babbling tones laid down with 'Trembling Of The Rose' and 'My Baby's Gone'

Two Gallants self titled album is packed to the rafters with references to the bands lengthy union which has grown to produce their own appealing definitive experimental sound. Playing from beginning to end like a musical biography it is sure to intrigue and ensnare those who bare witness to its distinctive alchemy.