ARTiST : Neva Dinova
ALBUM : The Hate Yourself Change
LABEL : Crank / Sidecho
GENRE : Indie
RELEASE : 2005-06-14
STREET : 2005-02-08
ENCODER : LAME 3.90
QUALiTY : 196kbps avg / 44.1kHz / Joint Stereo
SiZE : 58 MB
PLAYTiME : 00:39:32
+ TRACK LiSTiNG +
-----------------
[#] [Track Name] [Time]
1. Hat O'er Eyes 4:23
2. Ahh 3:38
3. Yellow Datsun 2:10
4. The Champion 4:09
5. Can't Wait To See You 3:24
6. A Picture In Pocket 2:47
7. She Can't Change 3:49
8. Blackest Heart 2:52
9. Cold Calls 3:24
10. On Off 4:11
11. I've Got A Feeling 4:45
39:32
+ RELEASE iNFORMATiON +
-----------------------
**
Well, it's taken a while for a proper retail of this cd to circulate so here it
is. The previous release was an obvious re-encode of a 192 CBR source that was
floating around on P2P and torrent sites months before the retail. The average
bitrate for the entire cd is a only a few kbps' higher, mainly because --aps is
doing what it's supposed to be doing on an album like this, when it's ripped from
a CD. The difference in quality is apparent in bitrates and sound. Enjoy
02-neva_dinova-ahh-its = 195
02-neva-dinova-ahh (ours) = 229 (big difference on the high end as well)
07-neva_dinova-she_cant_change-its = 207
07-neva_dinova-she_cant_change (ours) = 220
**
The last thing we heard from the long running but little recognized Omaha band
Neva Dinova was 2004's One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels, a split EP with Bright
Eyes. It seemed like Oberst was assisting a band he admired, one that would earn
exposure and credibility by sharing an EP with him. Neva Dinova actually
outshone Bright Eyes on the EP, as Jake Bellows's weary voice oozed over
sepia-toned Americana that was clear and concise if occasionally a bit murky.
Now that the group has become known outside of Omaha, here's its proper
coming-out party, The Hate Yourself Change.
Neva Dinova has crafted a dreamy, slow-burning lament that is consistently
pleasant, occasionally exceptional, and-- in inspired spurts-- aimed squarely at
the FM band. This newfound directness from a band that used to play
triple-guitar slowcore jumps out from the first track, "Hat O'er Eyes", which is
comprised solely of treacly vocals and a folksy acoustic strum. Bellows has a
rich, aching voice, like a rough-around-the-edges Jeff Buckley, yet refrains
from the affected drama of Omaha heavy hitters like Oberst or Son, Ambulance's
Joe Knapp. The sultry "Ahh" blossoms with angelic harmonies as Bellows switches
between winsome emoting and a deadpan drawl; with its delicate phrasing, subtle
shimmer, and steady increase in intensity, it wouldn't be out of place next to
Coldplay. One of the few upbeat songs on the album, "She Can't Change", follows
suit-- it's a steady build around a pristinely simple and poppy guitar figure.
But in the end, this same consistency may be what keeps Neva Dinova breaking out
of Omaha. Too many of their songs are agreeable but interchangeable. "The
Champion", Can't Wait to See You", "Blackest Heart", "Cold Calls", and "On/Off"
have little to recommend one over the others: They're all depressive ballads
that build to radiant peaks, tinged with gentle psychedelia, recessed harmonies,
and Bellows's able but unvaried vocal presence. But there are bright flashes of
deviation on The Hate Yourself Change that indicate Bellows is struggling out of
his perennial mode. "A Picture in Pocket", with its lean, repetitive throb and
tightly reverberating guitars, sounds a lot like Franz Ferdinand, especially the
fey vocal chorus. And "I've Got a Feeling", the album's closer, trades in
Bellows's lovelorn aphorisms for a more caustic vocal and lyrical turn, a weary,
expletive-riddled screed that mounts toward the choral refrain, "The world's a
shitty place and I want to die." Barring these aberrations, The Hate Yourself
Change works best as an innocuous bedtime record; including them, it's a
snapshot of a band taking a tentative step toward the next echelon of
recognition and accomplishment.