by Tim McMahan, lazy-i.com

Yesterday Saddle Creek Records released a new version of the Bright Eyes / Neva Dinova split One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels. Originally released in 2004 as a 6-song EP by Crank! Records, the new release adds four new tracks — two Bright Eyes and two Neva songs — recorded last fall at ARC Studios. The first thing that went through my mind when I heard about the project: Will there be a joint Bright Eyes / Neva tour in support of the LP? The answer, it seems, is no. At least that’s the word from Oberst’s publicist at Press Here Publicity. Seeing as Neva Dinova hasn’t performed publicly in long time, the idea of a tour was a long shot (though I’m told that there were discussions of a joint tour prior to release). The closest thing you’re going to get to hearing these new Neva songs live maybe happening tonight, when Jake Bellows opens a show for The Mynabirds at O’Leaver’s. The Mynabirds are coming off a number of shows last week in Austin at SXSW, so expect a tight performance, and maybe a few surprises. $5, 9:30 p.m.

Regardless, will this release ignite interest in Neva Dinova and Jake Bellows? You never know, especially judging by the early reviews, where Jake is getting a pretty good shake. Check out this review at Drowned in Sound (read it here), where the reviewer says, “But if Bright Eyes are largely responsible for …Vessels’ shimmering highs, it arguably falls to Neva Dinova to gift it a sense of cohesion. Much of this is due to Jake Bellows’ sleepy, almost narcotic delivery. Songs like ‘Poison’, ‘Get Back’ and new opener ‘Rollerskating’ are so sedate they might come off listless in lesser hands, but Bellows’ velvet croon carries them gracefully, with real warmth (his cracked lead vocal on the Oberst-penned final track ‘Spring Cleaning’ is a winner too). ‘Someone’s Love’ is the strongest of the band’s new offerings, finding Bellows ponder overheard conversations and inappropriately lewd thoughts over dense instrumentation in a manner both wry and compassionate.“

Then there’s this from Consequences of Sound (read it all here): “In essence, there are two things to take from this re-release. First, is that Neva Dinova is actively taking a deserved large step forward to becoming a household name and should not be ignored. Their sound is one that is original and impressive and deserves delving into. The second thing is that Bright Eyes are back!”

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area