RTB2

2

Denton’s Ryan Thomas Becker stirs many pots, but RTB2, his long-running duo with drummer Grady Don Sandlin, results in the most satisfying stew. The pair’s second full-length and fifth overall, 2 motors on two things: the musicians’ telepathic interplay and Becker’s songwriting excellence. The twosome burns on ass-kicking rockers “Wire to the Walls” and “God Will Be the One to Blame,” but shines brightest when negotiating the jagged angles of “Brownstar,” Becker’s cleanly picked riffs locked into Sandlin’s nimble bash-n-crash. Elsewhere, “Goon,” “32,” and “Another Black Beauty” turn on Becker’s distinctive ability to mesh Sixties R&B and heartland folk rock with Captain Beefheart-like twists, skewing left when you expect them to go straight and keeping your cochlea on its toes. Challenging enough to require time spent, but shot through with memorable melodies and soulful rock & roll verve, 2 rolls like thunder and aches with heart.

***.5

This article appears in February 15 • 2013.

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Michael Toland started writing about music in 1988 on the Gulf Coast, moved to Austin in early 1991, and has inflicted bylines upon the corporeal and digital pages of Pop Culture Press, The Big Takeover, Blurt, Amplifier, Austin.citysearch, the Austin American Statesman, Goldmine, Sleazegrinder, Rock & Roll Globe, High Bias, FHT Music Notes, and, since 2011, The Austin Chronicle.