Say Anything is one of the few bands to justify the existence of 21st century emo, and Max Bemis is a loudmouthed genius of a songwriter who transcends the genre even as he defends it. But of course, he grew up worshipping Saves The Day, one of the biggest reasons to hate contemporary emo, so it was just a matter of time before Bemis and Chris Conley of STD (heh) got together for a side project that would make me feel all conflicted. But just as the Raconteurs split the difference between me liking Brendan Benson and hating Jack Black and found a middle ground I could enjoy, Two Tongues has enough of the guy I like to make the annoying one less of a concern.

I would compare the self-titled Two Tongues debut to the last Say Anything album that featured a lot of guest vocalists, but the songs aren't nearly as good generally and Bemis's personality and sense of humor aren't being displayed as prominently. It's still pretty good, though, and "Silly Game" and "Back Against The Wall" have a surprising amount of groove that kind of helps break up the monotony of the album's more deadly serious emo power ballads. And ultimately, it really helps the album that there is something kind of moving about how the project arose from a mutual admiration society like the one between Bemis and Conley that seems utterly sincere and ego-less in the kind of embarrassing but genuine way that you tend to get from emo bands, whether good or bad.

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