The unfailingly awesome Two Gallants return with
something a bit different. Their last record, The
Bloom and the Blight, topped this list in 2012: that record was rockier
than their self-titled masterpiece from 2007.
Here, that rockier focus remains, but is dialled down a little. We
Are Undone is a less po-faced offering, which is much more simplistic and
playful. Adam Stephen’s trademark picked
guitar folk-rock sound is still front and centre, and Tyson Vogel’s
drumming is, as ever, unbelievably good.
But the complexity of previous recordings is left to one side here, at
least to an extent, with the simple riff refrain of the title track showing
that less can be more. Similarly,
‘Incidental’ is a fairly straight-ahead rock song (about gender dysphoria and
the confusion it can cause in others).
Tiny folk oddity ‘Katy Kruelly’ recalls the wonderful ‘Broken Eyes’ from
the last record, and album best ‘Some Trouble’ provides an exuberant
sing-along, after a winding unfocussed intro. We
Are Undone is perhaps not quite as
all-conqueringly great as some of their previous work, but it is nonetheless
superb throughout. Two Gallants remain one of my favourite bands in general, but more
particularly are one of my absolute favourite live bands – very few can
compete.
Seeing songs from We Are Undone live injected them with
something more, and they sat nicely amongst the existing greats from the back
catalogue in their set list.
sample track: Some Trouble
sample track: Some Trouble
