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It's easy to love the quasi-folk duo Two Gallants. They're superyoung -- barely of legal drinking age -- but in their own words "ain't good-lookin' from a quarter-mile," which creates a kindred bond among the majority of youngsters who don't look like the kids on The O.C. Native sons Adam Stephens (guitar/harmonica/vocals) and Tyson Vogel (drums) also bow down to the right kind of patron saints. There's old-school Bob Dylan all over Stephens' melodic phrasing and honest-to-God American storytelling, not to mention his breathlessly swing-song harp playing. The group draws on pint-swilling Pogues-ish anthems and Pink Floyd's Wall-era melancholia, both of which connect with every arrested adolescent's need for rebellion and broodiness. Best of all, Two Gallants' vision is in no way sanitized or melodramatic. Convincing images of domestic violence, abandonment, running away, death, and madness creep into nearly every tune. It's good to hear dark-side Americana up close and personal like this. Somehow it feels just like home. Check it out for yourself when Two Gallants perform on Thursday, May 5, at the Great American Music Hall; call 885-0750 or go to www.gamh.com for more info. -- Sam Prestianni

Thievery Corporation is in the business of déjà vu. Producers Rob Garza and Eric Hilton hawk slightly anachronistic, shaken-not-stirred memories of extravagantly minimalist lounges furnished in chilled aluminum and streamlined blondes. Some of their flashbacks aren't intentional. Much of their work sounds a little too familiar, like maybe you've heard something like it in your dentist's office or, in the case of the rather mundane David Byrne cameo ("The Heart's a Lonely Hunter") from the recent The Cosmic Game, on a Jamiroquai album. Elsewhere, however, the duo continent-hops through the mellow, cosmopolitan sounds of a preHilton Sisters jet set, mixing Bond and the '60s lounge scene into a refreshing trip-hop/acid cocktail. Thievery Corporation makes music that is the sonic equivalent of lunch in London, dinner in Delhi, and after-hours in Rio, so treat yourself to a night of old-guard decadence when the group performs on Sunday, May 8, at the Warfield; call 567-2060 or go to www.bgp.com for more info.-- Rachel Devitt