What do you get when you create a supergroup of the singers of Say Anything and Saves The Day? Saves Anything! I know it’s a crass and lazy comparison, but this really does kind of sound like the sum of the two bands if you’d made a baby from them. Max Bemis and Chris Conley are both part of the genius family and are as talented singer/songwriters as any around. The first two STD records are genre classics, as is the first Say Anything record. Hopes for this album are high. But it doesn’t quite reach the heady heights that it should do. It’s not up to par, for whatever reason, even though in places this is a really good album.
For instance, when Max and Chris trade vocal blows on ‘If I Could Make You Do Things’ they sound brilliant. The harmonies are great, the chorus is great, the riffs are great…it’s great. But it all tends to drift along after a while and what makes Say Anything stand out – the wit, lyrical delivery and sense of irony – simply isn’t here. Don’t get me wrong, in places – like ‘Tremors’ – this record is great fun. And I think if Two Tongues were a new, standalone band then I wouldn’t be quite so critical. But the truth is this band will attract hype and high hopes simply because of their previous output.
‘Dead Lizard’ is boring. ‘Don’t You Want To Come Home’ is a slow burner and takes too long to get going – plus Conley’s voice sounds too weird, even for me. It’s just a bit inconsistent and a bit hit and miss. At times TT are great and at times they’re not. Good outweighs bad, but I’m sure I won’t be the only one left thinking this should be better than it is.