Supergroups are a tricky business.  The creative chemistry between members whose respective bands are already established in their own right, can sometimes feel forced, if it is even there at all.  Fortunately, this is not the case with Two Tongues, the new project from Max Bemis of Say Anything and Chris Conley of Saves The Day.  The two singer/guitarists compliment each other so well, you might even forget that they are capable of creating music on their own, without the other one there as his muse.  The band is rounded out by drummer Coby Linder of Say Anything, and bassist Dave Soloway of Saves The Day, and they make a solid rhythm section, but it is clear from the first track who the stars of the show are.

I should state as a disclaimer that I am not an especially huge fan of Say Anything.  Max Bemis has an incredible voice, but stylistically their music is all over the map, and I find that they sometimes lack focus.  Meanwhile, I loved the first couple Saves The Day albums, but as the original members left and it became the Chris Conley show, I sort of lost interest.  That said, both songwriters are powerful creative forces, and I have been looking forward to this album since rumors first began circulating about it, especially after hearing both of the singers’ guest spots on Forgive Durden‘s rock opera Razia’s Shadow last year.  This collaboration between them strikes a perfect balance between their contrasting styles.  It could be that one censors the other and weeds out the less brilliant ideas, or maybe one inspires the other and forces him to evaluate his own writing on a completely different level; I’m not sure.  However the writing process might have played out, the end result rocks.

The two singers could not have more different voices, and on paper it might seem like an odd collaboration.  Although they have similar ranges and limits as far as pitch, Conley’s approach is smooth and nasal, while Bemis’ is forceful and throaty.  Conley sometimes sacrifices intelligibility for sweetness, while Bemis pours emotion into every phrase he sings, as if the words coming out of his mouth might be his last.  Admittedly, their voices lend themselves better to call-and-response than straight up harmonies, but they realize this and play to their strengths throughout the album.  The opening track “Crawl” is a perfect example, with Bemis sucking in huge breaths before emptying his lungs to belt out the verses, alternating with Conley’s nasal delivery and cool pitch bends in the chorus.  The bridge then features an angelic wash of lush vocal harmonies that only Conley could pull off, followed by Bemis’ angsty growl, which then becomes a perfect counterpoint to Conley’s melody in the final chorus.

The balance between the two singers is maintained carefully throughout, whether they are trading off lines, verses, or even entire songs.  Lyrically, they explore several different dynamics within that balance, sometimes as two characters singing to each other, and other times giving two different voices to the same narrator.  In “Back Against The Wall” they are lovers in a doomed relationship, and in “Silly Game” Conley tries to be a source of comfort while Bemis can only focus on being deserted by another girl.  In “Wowee Zowee” Conley is a concerned friend, calling Bemis back from the brink, trying to relieve his insecurities and reassure him that everything is going to be OK.  This song in particular might be somewhat autobiographical, since Say Anything had to cancel a tour with Saves The Day when Bemis was admitted to a mental hospital in 2005, suffering a breakdown after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  Fortunately he has not had an episode since, and the two bands eventually made up for the tour in 2007.

Lyrical inspiration aside, Two Tongues is an exciting project from two of pop-punk’s most visionary songwriters.  It showcases both singers doing what they do best, their contrasting styles complimenting each other perfectly.  Most importantly, the album never feels like a mix of two solo projects, and while one’s voice could never be confused for the other, they are two distinct elements that contribute to one cohesive sound.  For now, Conley is working on the third part in Saves The Day’s three-album concept which started with 2006′s Sound The Alarm, and Bemis will likely continue to hatch such crazy ideas as the Max Bemis Song Shop, through which he will compose a song based on your short writing for $150.  Although I admittedly don’t have much interest in either of their current bands these days, Two Tongues manages to be a great album full of songs that will likely be at the top of my playlist for some time.