The debut, self-titled album from supergroup Two Tongues was a long time coming. Say Anything singer Max Bemis has always followed in the footsteps of his teenage musical idol Chris Conley, the front man of Saves the Day. Upon listening to Bemis’ music, one can instantly recognize the similarities between the way he and Conley write and arrange their lyrics.
After Bemis’ band, Say Anything, landed a tour with Saves the Day in 2006, Bemis became close friends with his once musical hero. Conley even lent guest vocals to a track on Say Anything’s 2007 album, “In Defense of the Genre.” Needless to say, the song was one of the better tracks on the double-disc record.
Besides Bemis and Conley, Two Tongues is comprised of Coby Linder of Say Anything and Dave Soloway of Saves the Day, making it somewhat of a supergroup. But the real question is: Does it work?
Say Anything and Saves the Day write similar music and have run the gamut from late- ’90s, “real” emo music to a more popular, watered-down, pop-infused and accessible version of the genre.
However, Two Tongues’ debut album seems to pull a lot of the highlights out of Saves the Day’s spanning career and infuse them with Bemis’s creative ingenuity, both lyrically and musically.
The end result is an album that accomplishes what Bemis and Conley set out to do while making this record. One can’t quite say it sounds like either Say Anything or Saves the Day, but it’s not really an intermediate blend between the two bands either. That would be too easy.
Both vocalists sing on the majority of tracks, bantering back and forth, or sharing duties during choruses of some songs. It’s clear both have things to say, and it’s almost like each song is a conversation between the two. It’s not a coincidence that the album and project is called “Two Tongues.” There’s clearly a lot of emotion to be found in the words and musical creativity of these two in each and every song, including a cover of Ween’s “Even If You Don’t,” which closes out the 13- track record.
On the band’s Myspace page Two Tongues is described as “…Is a Real Boy” meets “Through Being Cool.” Yes, there is a lot of similarity to Say Anything’s “…Is A Real Boy,” but I wouldn’t go as far as citing Saves the Day’s 1999 release, “Through Being Cool,” as the Web site does. Conley and his band have gone through a radical change since 1999, especially in the way Conley sings.
If there must be a comparison made to what Saves the Day record Two Tongues draws from (which isn’t exactly necessary, but rather unavoidable), there’s a lot of similarities to “In Reverie.” The good side of this is that “In Reverie” wasn’t a bad album, but it marked the slow decline of Saves the Day. The band just isn’t what it used to be five years ago, but the formation of Two Tongues has seemed to revitalize Conley, most definitely because of Bemis’ help.
Two Tongues produces something more than a new Say Anything or Saves the Day record, though. The project pays homage to the post-punk movement of the ’90s, almost as a “thank you” to what would create the power-pop and pop-punk genres that are so popular today.
Who knows how long Two Tongues will continue as a supergroup, but one thing is for sure. Max Bemis and Chris Conley’s collaboration works like a charm. The two musicians lend vocals that complement each other to a tremendous degree. The music behind their words is utterly refreshing in a genre bogged down with disgustingly predictable, cookie-cutter bands and annoying, teenage fans.
Two Tongues has made a record to be enjoyed by anyone – from those longing for the days of Cap’n Jazz and Braid to the boy who just bought a stick of black eyeliner and a pair of jeans three-times too small. Shame on you, kid.
Final Rating: 7.5
