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Rating: In a perfect world, the Two Gallants would be a successful band, their videos would constantly occupy the top spots on TRL, and teenagers would clog the lines with their sassy texts for Adam and Tyson (one could argue that in a perfect world TRL wouldn't exist, but bear with me).
But no, ours is a slightly crazy world, and the Two Gallants are a niche band, the kind we debasics love, with our striped shirts, our Myspace pages, and our All-Star sneakers. Childhood friends from San Francisco, the two boys have reached their third studio work, the second for Oberst's Saddle Creek after the brilliant "What the Toll Tells," released just 12 months ago.
The album, which is untitled and which we will therefore call "Two Gallants," represents another step towards the duo's definitive artistic maturation. From the intro, "the Deader" (one of the best moments), you can indeed perceive the improvement in songwriting, which, combined with very careful production work, gives the album a depth that is certainly superior to the past.
What hasn't changed, however, is the quality of the lyrics, a factor that sets the Two Gallants apart from most of today's bands and makes them so fascinating and at the same time "difficult." Their lyrics are indeed true "literary works" (it's no coincidence that the band's name itself is derived from a piece in Joyce's "Dubliners"... so much for TRL) written in a classic and very evocative English. An attentive listener can catch numerous references to English and American literature, the epic of the West, and the great masters of country-folk, from Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan, including Johnny Cash, from whom they inherit the taste for telling the stories of renegades, murderers, and prostitutes. A heartfelt opinion from the writer: when listening to the 2GS, one cannot overlook reading and understanding the splendid lyrics; it's a bit like saying, paraphrasing a famous ad: "if you don't lick your fingers, you enjoy only half."
Returning to the actual music, as mentioned above, the songwriting has improved, and we finally find more immediate and catchy tracks ("The Deader", "The Hand that Held Me Down", "Reflection of the Marionette", "Despite what You've Been Told") alongside the heart-wrenching lullabies that are the duo's trademark. These are long, sparse tracks with an almost disarming intimacy but which still manage not to be heavy and to captivate the listener ("Trembling of the Rose", "Ribbons on my Tongue", "My Baby's Gone"). It is in these tracks that Adam Stephens' tormented soul reveals itself without veils, the voice becomes heartrending, superbly accompanied by the guitar.
This "Two Gallants" is an excellent album. The two Frisco boys have garnered a decent following by touring and touring America and Europe, relying solely on their great music.
Give it a listen; they deserve it.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
04 Drive My Car ()
You don’t listen when he says,
That you don’t love him for his brain but for his head,
So pretty and so safe and so misread,
You don’t need this kid,
Could it be this kid?,
And when all the hate you throw,
Is all you really need to cut him from below,
Seems like everyone got tickets to the show,
To watch your cheeks go red,
Could it be this kid?
But the girl you speak, so goddamn dangerous,
Could it be you’re just like the rest of us?
And though you try you know you can’t escape from us,
When all he hears is the curse of what you did,
And all he knows is the need to keep you hid.
Could it be this kid?
And when all your nights have come,
Each as gallant and as faithless as this one.
He be nothing more than just another one,
Another past you hid.
You hid it from this kid.
And as the wind instains your face,
You know there’s no-one but yourself who’s out of place.
So fearful and so lost in his embrace.
You don’t need this kid.
Could it be this kid?
But the girl you speak, so goddamn dangerous,
Could it be you’re just like the rest of us?
And though you try you know you can’t escape from us,
When all he hears is the curse of what you did,
And all he knows is the need to keep you hid.
Could it be this kid?
“It’s hard” she said “my fortune’s been quite hard”
“It’s hard” she said “my fortune’s been quite hard”
“this card” he said “don’t play that victim card”
“this card” he said “don’t play that victim card”
“stars” she said “this fate is crossed with stars”
“it’s god” he said “it’s that I’ll disregard”
“this jar” he said “I’ll leave the door ajar”
“this car” he said “cos you should drive my car”
“has this gone much too far?” she said
“has this gone much too far?”
“I don’t know who you are”
“I don’t know who you are”
just before you break in two, one last thing he’ll say to you.
one last thing that’s best unheard, should it be unsaid?
I gave you more than you could take,
All that put was more at stake.
You keep your trophies on the wall,
Well I’ll take the door instead,
Cos you don’t need this kid.
But the girl you speak, so goddamn dangerous,
Could it be you’re just like the rest of us?
And though you try you know you can’t escape from us,
When all he hears is the curse of what you did,
And all he knows is the need to keep you hid.
Could it be this kid?
05 The Throes ()
Well I don’t know if I can take this anymore,
She’s thinking as he shoves (her) against the wall,
Screaming “well then what good are you for,
you don’t give me no pleasure at all”
oh now I know I need to leave so she tells herself again,
wipes a little blood upon her sleeve,
but she don’t tell herself when.
And the baby starts a-crying,
Daddy sits back down,
Sinks another drink to bring his temper down.
And it’s in each they’re reflecting on the tv screen,
It reminds her of a better day,
She thought she’d seen.
But now take your time before you grieve,
And keep your heart held off your sleeve,
Cos ain’t no-one but you deceived,
Your sympathy is soon to leave.
And now hide your mouth before you speak,
Better yet just turn a cheek,
Watch your interest growing weak,
But still you say that I’m the freak,
And I guess that’s fine with me.
But he’s probably had a long, long day,
She’s thinking in the kitchen while she weeps,
Putting dinner’s left-overs away,
As he stumbles off to bed and then to sleep.
And surely he’ll be better come the dawn,
When I rise to cook him breakfast ‘fore he goes,
Wakes without a word and then he’s gone,
He’s got that kinda love that never shows.
And baby starts a-wailing and daddy comes back out,
“shut up that child” she hears him shout,
and cradled in her arms she tries to calm the sound.
“how am I to sleep” he screams and slaps her down.
But now take your time before you grieve,
And keep your heart held off your sleeve,
Cos ain’t no-one but you deceived,
Your sympathy is soon to leave.
And now hide your mouth before you speak,
Better yet just turn a cheek,
Watch your interest growing weak,
But still you say that I’m the freak,
And I guess that’s fine with me.
When she wakes her head don’t cease to pain
Bodies broken and her clothes all torn away,
Still the threat of emptiness remains,
As she struggles to her feet to get away,
“help, where has my child gone” she screams
as she runs from room to room,
every sound of silence lingers on,
not a single kick inside her womb.
And her mind drowns in the shadows,
Mama falls back down,
Where the walls that shape her world seem taller from the ground
And no more breath to scream, her throat just drips away,
And no more life to lose as if there were to save.
But now take your time before you grieve,
And keep your heart held off your sleeve,
Cos ain’t no-one but you deceived,
Your sympathy is soon to leave.
And now hide your mouth before you speak,
Better yet just turn a cheek,
Watch your interest growing weak,
But still you say that I’m the freak,
And I guess that’s fine with me.
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