by Jeremy Buckley
When Neva Dinova went on an indefinite hiatus (for good?) a few years back, Nebraska's music community was left wondering if the musicians from the group were done with music altogether. With Lead vocalist Jake Bellows probably had to deal with that question more than the others.
Luckily for fans, Bellows has remained hard at work, writing new songs and reworking older tunes. Beyond the occasional performance, Bellows recently announced via his website that he’s been in the studio working on a new record.
“My friends, Ben Brodin, Ryan Fox, Todd Fink, and Heath Koontz, and their amazing musical minds have been so generous with their time and talents and have made this into my favorite batch of recordings that I’ve had the privilege to be a part," Bellows says. "We are currently in the mixing phase of this record and expect to have it mostly finished by Spring at the latest!”
In the meantime, fans of Bellows' music will be happy to hear that he’s made an acoustic version of “Blackest Heart” available for download for $1.29.
Beyond the obvious stripped-down nature of the song in its acoustic form, there’s a definite shift in how the vocals were recorded. While the vocals on the original version — from Neva Dinova’s sophomore album The Hate Yourself Change — are rather straightforward, the acoustic version definitely utilizes some subtle echo effects and Bellows sings somehow with even a greater sense of despair in his voice. The outro to the album version was always jarring, so I was curious what he’d do this time around. I’ll let you give it a listen.
Click here to download “Blackest Heart” (acoustic) or to listen to a 30-second sample.
Jeremy Buckley is a contributor for Hear Nebraska. He's excited to see Radiohead at least twice this spring. Hopefully more. Contact him at jeremyb@hearnebraska.org.
