Bright Eyes / Neva Dinova - One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels

Typically, split CDs kinda bore me. I mean you usually end up getting a couple songs from a band that you like and then some half-ass or just bad songs from another band. Of course there are exceptions, but overall, that seems to be my observation. So what do you get when instead of having separate songs, the two bands actually both work on all the songs together? A kick ass split CD, that’s what you get. Chances are you all know who Bright Eyes is, and like them or not, it is hard to deny Conor’s amazing songwriting talents. However, chances are you haven’t heard of Neva Dinova (unless of course you just read our review of their last record). Much like Bright Eyes, Neva is also from Omaha and their sound is very similar to that of Conor and friends. Given their similarities and the band members’ long standing relationship, it comes as no surprise that the bands do a great job of pulling off this collaboration. Most of the songs on One Jug of Wine… are slower, acoustic songs featuring either Conor or Neva Dinova front man Jake Bellows singing over an acoustic guitar. All the band members make it into the mix, and there are appearances by the Cursive’s Gretta Cohn and a slew of others which help to add to the warmness of the sound. The best thing I can say to describe this album is to picture yourself hanging out in Omaha on a back porch somewhere with all these great musicians sitting around, trading songs back and forth. The comradery, talent of the musicians and laid back Omaha attitude all come through in the songs and really take you to that porch. Beyond the musical merit of the album, I also think the bands involved deserve some extra recognition for taking the “split” album in a new direction. I can only hope that One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels starts a new trend in music collaborations. [www.crankthis.com]