We Live On Cliffs
The last album by Two Gallants, their eponymous third record from 2007, is probably my favourite album of the last five years (certainly it’s up there with the best). I didn’t discover that record until summer 2008, but since then I’ve been eagerly awaiting the follow up. It hasn’t come (I still have hope), and instead I have had to make do with We Live On Cliffs – the debut solo album by Two Gallants mainman Adam Haworth Stephens. And after the initial disappointment (that this isn’t that similar to, or as good as, any of the three Two Gallants albums) had passed, I found a record with a huge amount to love. Where Two Gallants mixed rock, country and folk, Stephens solo is all about thoughtful acoustic balladry. Like so many Saddle Creek releases, this is a record where songwriting is king and – stripped of the distortion and frantic drum-thumping of his previous work – it becomes obvious that it is Stephens’ skill for songwriting that was at the heart of all of the Two Gallants tracks I adore. He’s also an exceptional technical guitarist, but the flourishes he’s capable of are downplayed here – it’s all about the songs. Melancholic but never depressing, intelligent but simple, beautiful but raw – and very different from the day job. Everything a good solo album should be. More Two Gallants now though please...
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