It’s time to hand over the keys. We are getting near the summer break and the webzine’s reviewers are challenging themselves to write inventive reviews about music and life it is made of. As I start writing this review, I can only think of the tight jeans and push up bras I have been obliged to contemplate all day. And then, back home I play this CD and here again it reminds me of my daytime abstinence and voyeurism. Indeed, Two Guys’ lyrics often deal with loneliness, frustration, waiting, love and sex. “Ode to Masturbation” is straightforwardly clear about this point while “Recovery” is more subtle, covered with pop naiveté.

Is sex better than love ? I don’t really know, at least you don’t feel nauseous after love.

Two Guys is made of the Jones brothers, one drummer and one guitarist who plays on a baritone guitar (something between a bass guitar and a guitar I suppose). The latter gives peculiar accents to the songs and the minimalist formation is truly inventive and cohesive. The deconstructive nature of most of the songs reminded me of Ruins at first but you can listen to more than two songs in a row from this debut album “Recorded”. Basically, I’d say that it is original (to my ear) indie pop rock.

Is sex better than a cup of tea ? I don’t really know, at least you will never get a negative groaning if you ask for a tea refill.

I have listened to “Recorded” over and over again during the last week and I have not found something bad to say about it yet. But I must try to be objective here, so I’d say that their music may be kind of repetitive at times. If you like one, you will like all. References I can childishly point out : Sean Lennon, Thom Yorke and Tom McRae (for the singing), Reiziger and anything labeled as indie American pop rock (for the music).

Is sex better than playing guitar ? I don’t really know, but as a guitar player you won’t get a disagreeable remark about the size of your instrument after the show.

I must admit that the longest songs like “Someone stole my fucking CDs” and “Victoria” are repetitive but not boring because the basis of the song is good, but 4 minutes is too long in this case. The quicker the better, in fact. “Empty”, “Animal Trainers” and “Hypocrite” are short melodic and sometimes angst ridden pieces which develop themselves out of a traditional song format. As a matter of fact, overdrive is not used only as a mean of playing the last chorus louder, there is a real architecture in Two Guys’ short songs that becomes more problematic with longer ones.

Is sex better than masturbation? I don’t really know, at least masturbation is sex with someone you love.

On the whole, they succeed in melting styles without an impression of fashionable collage: grind drum gimmick, jazzy interludes, metal sound, pop patterns, catchy chorus, lo-fi stuff, surprising bridges, etc….  In the end, I can only advise you to try to grasp a copy of this excellent record. Excuse me I am tired, I cannot think of something more original.

Is sex better than listening to King Crimson? I don’t really know but I need sex.

-Angus "triangle" Anderson

/june 15th 2003/