Giving thanks, making a wish

Download it: Two Gallants "Las Cruces Jail"

One of the great albums from 2004 that I missed out on until recently, was Two Gallants' The Throes. If you didn't know up front this guitar n' drums duo was from S.F., you'd swear they were from the south or midwest, with their Faulknerian tales of the rural life. They take their name from a James Joyce short story, and bow to the altar of John Fahey, so their tastes are rich, but their sound is punkish roots rock of Uncle Tupelo, or, more obscurely, Portland's The Dharma Bums (singer/guitarist Adam Stephens sounds a lot like Jeremy Wilson, when he led the Bums.) Another comparison that gets thrown around is Bob Dylan, mostly I imagine because of Stephens' occasional harmonica, so it's appropriate that they ended up signing with Saddle Creek, home to Conor Oberst's Dylanesque Bright Eyes.

Two Gallants are creating quite a buzz (especially after their riveting CMJ performance) and their new album (What the Toll Tells) is slated for February 21, 2006, but prior to that, they're releasing a good ol' fashioned 7" single as their first release for Saddle Creek (available December 6th,) to which I'd like to give some thanks. "Las Cruces Jail" demonstrates something else that is fascinating about Two Gallants, which is their ability to make a longer song and hold the listener through 'the tale,' w/o the repitition that we're usually subjugated to. The download is a radio-edit (full-length is 6:50) but you get the idea.

It serves as a tasty appetizer for what's coming down the pipe, and now I'd like to make my wish that Saddle Creek make their way into the Rhapsody library prior to the February 21st Two Gallants release (What the Toll Tells.) I made a similar wish for Merge Records to make it in for Spoon's Gimme Fiction, and it was granted, so I hope that serves as a precedent.

tags: playlist, music, rhapsody, two gallants, saddle creek, download