If someone said to you, "Hey, you should totally check out the Secret Handshake. They're, like, ambient electro-emo," what would you do? You'd want to throw up into your Emily the Strange lunchbox, right? Well, the truth is: The band's not as bad as you'd expect. The tunes are just...

The indie-blues duo Two Gallants showcases complex and original folk ballads. The pair's lyrics are at once confessional and cheeky ("If liquor's a lover, you know I'm a whore") and its songs are gritty, somber and (sometimes) uncomfortably sincere. New fans are often lured into its hypnotic live show by...