Two Tongues “Two Tongues”

Rating: 6/10

Two Tongues is a rare instance where collaboration between two bands actually sounds like the sum of its parts instead of a b-sides collection.

Take two-thirds of the studio band behind Say Anything and half of Saves the Day and you get Two Tongues.

The collaboration soars when Say Anything front man Max Bemis takes over on lead guitar duties and Saves the Day front man Chris Conley drives the song on rhythm guitar. The two musicians have the ability to bring the best out in each other as evident in songs like “Crawl” and “Dead Lizard.”

On the other hand, they often fall into the habit of writing tracks that just don’t have enough substance to justify three minutes of playtime. The tracks “Silly Game” and “Alice” should be accompanied with a snooze button.

Though some of the weaker tracks drag down the pace, the album showcases an impressive collaboration. The album sounds like an early release put together by a band of talented musicians on the verge of making a breakthrough.

With more time to develop their sound together, Bemis and Conley could release material that puts their main bands to shame. “Two Tongues,” however, does not surpass either contributing acts’ work on “Stay What You Are” and “In Defense of the Genre.”

For fans of either or both bands, it is hoped that “Two Tongues” won’t be the collaboration’s last performance.