Garrett Dale

Two T's [EP] (2017)

Eric Rosso

If you’ve ever seen Garrett Dale or his band Red City Radio play live, it absolutely shines through how much he loves performing. In the handful of times I’ve seen him play live, that love has shown through with him sharing his tequila shots at the merch table, him sneaking up behind a buddy and I to tickle us after we *followed a* Midwest run on a tour he was on for a couple of days, and us running up a bar tab together in Detroit on said tour causing us to almost miss the following day’s Chicago show. His personality and command on stage is a presence to be reckoned with. That’s why I was very excited when Red Scare Industries announced a Garrett Dale solo EP titled Two T’s.

Two T’s is pure Garrett Dale. If you enjoy his raspy, low-end vocal registrar and personal reflections of life, love, and loss, there is nothing you will find to dislike about this EP, which is hard to anyways at three songs long. Two T’s allows the southern twang that underscores some of Red City Radio’s latest output to come to the forefront. While some band leaders fall flat making the transition to solo output, Dale fills out his sound with well placed trumpet, piano, strings, harmonica, and saxophone. The vocal harmonies found on Red City Radio’s output complementing Dale’s gruffness are also revisited here. They’re delivered with the tactfulness necessary to add capacity to the rich production on Two T’s.

Opening track “2016 Was…” is the stand out track. I fucking dare you not to walk away after listening to this song without it stuck in your head. The chorus is infectious and is surefire pick-me-up on a bad day with its saloon gallup. “House Full of Dogs” has Dale sharing a story about living the life he’s chosen with no regrets despite it leaving some gaps on his resume. “Down The Rabbit Hole” continues in this manner painting a sullen picture of letting go of something that just didn’t work out despite best intentions.

At three songs, the only fault inherent with Two T’s is the length. It will leave you wanting more and hopefully Dale will oblige in the not too distant future.