Album Review: Two T's EP by Garrett Dale

On the 26th of May, Red Scare Industries and Garrett Dale sprang a little bit of a surprise on the punk rock community with the release of the Red City Radio frontman's debut EP, Two T's. Being a Red City Radio fan, particularly of Dale's soulful vocal, I was equal parts excited and intrigued to check out the release.

Two T's EP begins with the song 2016 Was… and, expecting a bit of an acoustic foot stomper, I was slightly taken aback by the soft acoustics that open the song up. I was even more surprised when some brass was introduced to the proceedings. Garrett's voice is of course superb, it's as soulful as ever and there is such warmth to it. The track is about the terrible year that 2016 was and realising that "everybody gets fucked once in a while." This is one of those brilliant cathartic songs that is fantastic for getting you through a terrible time. The second track is titled House Full Of Dogs. Another soft, soulful track that I can imagine silencing an entire room when it's played live. There is a nice lounge music vibe to the track with some great piano and a saxophone solo adding to the song. I feel like I'm in a jazz club and I'm loving it. That's not a sentence I ever thought I'd say. Lastly we have Down The Rabbit Hole. What a heartbreaker this song is! It's been a long time since I heard a guitar played so tenderly and when Garrett's vocal comes in you know immediately things are about to get emotional. There are times when you really expect the track to burst into life but those times it hits a slight peak and falls back into the familiar pattern. This less is more approach only helps add to the emotion of the song.

Like I said, I was expecting more of an acoustic punk rock foot stomper of a EP from the Red City Radio man. This is not what we got. What we got was a beautifully played, emotional and moving piece of country and alternative pop music. It definitely took me out of my normal comfort zone with regards to what I'd normally listen to but once I got in the groove I found three brilliantly written songs by a very talented man from Oklahoma.

Stream and download Two T's EP here: https://garrettdale.bandcamp.com/album/two-ts-ep

Like Garret Dale here: https://www.facebook.com/GarrettDaleRCR/

This review was written by Colin Clark.