The Two Timin' Four
Dark Before the Dawn (Take Off)
Reviewed by Jim Caligiuri, Fri., April 11, 2008
The Two Timin' Four
Dark Before the Dawn (Take Off)By adding a drummer, the Two Timin' Three have become Four. Originally from Maine, where they worked with Sean Mencher of High Noon fame, the now Austin-based band's third LP, Dark Before the Dawn, is a sturdy mix of rockabilly beats and other retro antics updated with brash energy. There are times that the quartet hits with the force of the Blasters, a sound that's concrete solid and just as heavy. Their downfall is in the vocals of Eric Laufer, who possesses a whine somewhere between the braying of Jello Biafra and the overemoting of Morrissey. The Four hit pop-punk high points with "Mystery Girl" and "Lets Make Believe," and the rest of Dawn teems with simple, tuneful melodies and just the right amount of unpretentious atmospherics. Still, Laufer's voice is a distraction that will irk more than a few.