Emo's first supergroup

Rock supergroups are usually bad ideas. They can be panned for smelling of desperation or fall apart because egos override the music.

But Two Tongues, emo-punk’s first supergroup, featuring members of scene giants Say Anything and Saves The Day, come together seamlessly on their self-titled debut, even if the results are uneven.

If there were ever two influential vocalists perfect for each another, it has to be Max Bemis and Chris Conley. Bemis’ raspy drawl and Conley’s high-pitched whine tightly hug each another throughout each track, leading to fantastic dynamism.

The record begins with the emotionally laced “Crawl,” “If I Could Make You Do Things” and “Dead Lizard,” but after that wonderful intro, it falters and becomes ultimately uneven due to surprisingly poor lyrics.

Both Bemis and Conley are great writers in their own right, but here the lyrics are broad, weak and uninteresting. Chorus lines like “Because I need you here with me / I need you to see me / It’s only a dream to me” (from “Tremors”) wouldn’t cut it on a PCD track, but that’s the hackneyed effort seen here.

Even enjoyable tracks like “Wowee Zowee” are hampered by feeble lyricism (“You shut me out / I won’t let you go / Well you shut me down”).

The vocal prowess of Bemis and Conley keep the album afloat amongst boring songs (“Even If You Don’t,” “Silly Game”) that wouldn’t even make it to B-Side status in their real bands’ catalogs, but it’s not enough.

Two Tongues’ foray into supergroup territory isn’t Velvet Revolver-bad, but just like any, ultimately fails to meet the hype or substance of two bands on their own.

Say Anything and Saves The Day will go down as legends in emo history, but it’s hard to imagine Two Tongues as anything more than a footnote to that story.