Two Gallants - The Bloom And The Blight (2012)

Two Gallants release their fourth LP The Bloom and the Blight. Produced by John Congleton (The Walkmen, Explosions In The Sky, St. Vincent) the album is their first since 2007's self-titled release and comes after a three-year hiatus. Friends since they were five, Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel grew up playing music together, from early teen-age house parties in their hometown of San Francisco, to multiple world tours.

The Bloom and the Blight is the work of a band that has matured and redefined itself, and the album is imbued with a palpable sense of personal catharsis. It moves away from Two Gallants' more folk and blues-based past, representing the duo's ferocious live show and their past steeped in punk and grunge. The songs have a dark side and a dynamic sonic heft, yet a sense of salvation and resolve courses throughout: an urgent, emotional poignancy stemming in part from Stephens' recovery from a serious van accident in 2010.