Two Gallants
What the Toll Tells
Available: February 21
Label: Saddle Creek

Wow, I’ve got a lot of albums to get through after my brief vacation, and I must say I can’t stop listening to Two Gallant’s second album, What the Toll Tells. After much thought, I’ve decided the San Francisco twenty-something duo of Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel are best described as Bright Eyes with balls meets Dylan. That’s the best I can do.

While the label is pushing, “Las Cruces Jail” — which is indeed a great song with the blues bravado and storytelling charm of Jack White set to a ghostly Wild West whistle amidst a creeping riff — I think “Steady Rolling” fairs better as a representation of the group as a whole (you can listen to a live version here). Four of the 9 tracks clocking in at over 8 minutes, but perhaps the briefest track, “Age of Assasins,” is the best written – especially with minimal instrumentation – drums, acoustic guitar and harmonica.

The double LP boasts two bonus tracks from the group’s early days, “Big Lucille” and “Negropheila Blues.”
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Download “Las Cruces Jail” here: