Two Gallants

Two Gallants (accent on the second syllable, thank you very much) have a serious problem: Their live show is so real, so visceral, spellbinding, exhausting, hilarious and riddled with crazed pathos that no recording could possibly do it justice. Tyson Vogel's relationship to his drum kit is among the most fraught we've ever witnessed, stick connecting with snare with such inhuman force that it looks like he's trying to punch straight through to the floor with every beat. On top of that, Vogel and guitarist-vocalist Adam Stephens are so tight onstage that they seem telepathically connected, performing hairpin tempo shifts with military-style precision that somehow bolsters the reckless soul of their weirdly accessible blues-and-country-derived thrash. Two Gallants' new What the Toll Tells is equally heartbreaking, offensive, cacophonous, catchy and varied — in other words, well worth checking out.