The Two Man Gentleman Band: Two At A Time

Two At A Time
The Two Man Gentleman Band

Towards the end of 2011, The Two Man Gentleman Band began a Kickstarter appeal to help fund their new album (Marsh Towers covered the project here and here). The fruits of their labour are now ready, willing and able to enhance your own gentlemanly collections of musical entertainment.

I have seen one half of the band; Andy Bean toured the UK with The Wiyos a couple of years ago and recorded a wonderful EP with them too (as mentioned in my interview with The Wiyos).

What should one expect? Well, let's start with the name. True, there are two of them, namely Andy Bean (on tenor guitar) and Fuller Condon (string bass) and they describe their music as 'hot raucous retro swing'. According to the events portrayed in the songs, we must assume that the term 'gentleman' is being used a shade loosely. Possibly, to borrow a phrase used to describe the great music hall star Billy Bennett, it would be more accurate to them as 'almost gentlemen'.

The well-dressed duo - rarely to be seen with a hair out of place or without a cocktail glass in hand - present 12 songs of general debauchery, based on subjects such as having lots of fun while their folks are away, arranging a pool party just to get a look at bathing suits (and their contents), a desire for strong drink and...the perfect Tikka Masala.  Everyday concerns for the everyday gentleman.

Would you go to a pool party with these gentlemen?

The track list should give ample information on what else to expect.

Track List

Pork Chops
Please Don't Water it Down
Panama City Beach
Pool Party
Shut That Gate
Two Star Motel
Poolside
Cheese and Crackers
Tikka Masala
Let's Get Happy Together
Prescription Drugs
Two at a Time

The Gentlemen in full swing

The Two Man Gentleman Band fuse a modern, tongue in cheek knowingness with the best traditions of feel good music hall to produce a worthy slice of pure entertainment, all played with a pair of stiff upper lips and straight faces.  All of the songs are catchy and leave one wanting to hear more. My two personal favourites are undoubtedly Tikka Masala and Pork Chops. They represent the two strongest cuts on the album. But don't just take my word for it; have a listen to this:

Keep up to date with The Two Man Gentleman Band over on their official website  and there's more information on this page of the Brookfield Knights site.

All images in this review are © The Two Man Gentleman Band