BUZZ BANDS

Retooled, there’s more to Tell

William Tell has heard it all before -- yes, that’s his real name, and think of the jokes they’ll crack when record labels make their overtures -- but fans haven’t heard all of William Tell. Not if the only thing they know of the 26-year-old singer-songwriter is his work as a guitarist for Something Corporate.

The south Orange County native parted ways amicably with the rock quintet two years ago, having put in three years of hard touring and guitar work. Eventually he realized “there wasn’t space for me to do my own thing,” he says. “I wasn’t writing songs in the band because Andrew [McMahon, now performing as Jack’s Mannequin] was so good and prolific and Josh [Partington] wrote too.”

So the son of a gospel singer retooled and set out to explore his pop influences in his own songs, which, from his recordings so far -- none of which has been released -- reflect the hook-filled pop that could have been on the radio in any of several decades.

“It’s really just rooted in the classic rock thing,” Tell says, “but having been in a piano band and having been exposed to a lot of other bands on the Warped Tour, you can’t help but be influenced by some of that.”

Tell, backed by his old Something Corporate band mate Brian Ireland on drums, as well as Derek Deblieux on guitar and Johnny Clancy on bass, showcases next Thursday at the Troubadour.

Outlaws and love gone wrong

Stop us if you’ve heard this one: Bored with contemporary music, a pair of young musicians from a northern city look to vintage blues and folk for inspiration. The resulting project is a raw guitar-and-drums duo, one that energizes indie rock fans equally thirsty for a truer, deeper sound.

Adam Stephens of San Francisco’s Two Gallants would love to stop there, and understandably so. Dogged by comparisons to retro-loving duos of all stripes since their 2002 debut, he and drummer Tyson Vogel may have finally come into their own with the recently released “What the Toll Tells.”

Released on Omaha buzz-factory Saddle Creek Records, Two Gallants’ sophomore album is a shot of whiskey-soaked gravel served on a hot Southern day. Led by Stephens’ larynx-piercing vocals, the band spins tales of outlaws and love gone wrong that would make the Man in Black proud. But the duo’s desire to honor its influences veers into treacherous waters with the track “Long Summer Day,” the story of a one-man slave rebellion with uncomfortably authentic language better suited to Ice Cube than two 24-year-old white kids from the capital of cultural sensitivity.

“If you read the lyrics you’ll understand there’s obviously no hatred coming from our side,” says Stephens, who adds that he wrote the song as an acknowledgment of the turbulent era that spawned country-blues. “If someone is paying attention and realizes that it’s just a song, and allows it to be there like a story or novel could be, I think people would understand it. I would hope they could.”

Two Gallants, with local talents Cold War Kids opening, play the Troubadour on Tuesday.

Fast

forward

So British quintet Art Brut found a U.S. label. Downtown Records, home of Gnarls Barkley and the Eagles of Death Metal, will release Art Brut’s debut, “Bang Bang Rock and Roll,” on May 23.... Speaking of releases, retooled dream-pop outfit Languis backed up its new “Other Desert Cities” EP with a strong show Sunday at Spaceland, kicking off a monthlong tour; the L.A. quartet will be back in town April 22.... “Cultivation,” the sophomore album by Joshua Tree’s Gram Rabbit, lands April 18. The quartet joins Ima Robot on Tuesday at the House of Blues for a shindig called South by Sunset Strip; the Rabbits will also be out in force April 21 at the Echo.... Dirty Little Secret celebrates the release of its full-length debut, “Cabin Fever,” on Tuesday at Cinespace.... Ten bands, 40 musicians and a whole lotta Lynyrd Skynyrd -- that’s what’s in store Saturday at the Scene in Glendale. The venue’s Katrinathon (proceeds go to three New Orleans bands affected by the disaster) includes Backbiter and Altamont (featuring Dale Crover of the Melvins), among others.... Innaway has a bundle of shows lined up in April, including Monday at the Silverlake Lounge and Tuesday at the Prospector in Long Beach.

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Kevin Bronson, with Chris Barton

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Recommended downloads

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* Hear Two Gallants’ “Las Cruces Jail” at www.twogallants.com/audio.html

* Download Languis’ “In the Fields of (Lonely Fences)” at languis.com