It’s beyond fitting that Neva Dinova has found a new home at Saddle Creek.You May Already Be Dreaming, the band’s third full-length and first since 2005’s The Hate Yourself Change (Crank/Sidecho) is a lush, largely electric affair rich with the rural textures that pepper releases from the band’s Omaha contemporaries. Having been a staple in the scene since guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Jake Bellows and bassist Heath Koontz began collaborating in the early nineties, Neva Dinova (named after Bellows’ grandmother) have continually evolved their melancholic sound, making masterful use of counterbalanced melodies and poetic lyricism.
Bellows began composing songs for You May Already Be Dreaming two years ago, but he and the band (including The Good Life drummer Roger Lewis) were fated to overcome a number of obstacles before the recording process would even begin. First, Bellows realized that he wanted to re-work a number of song ideas on his own—following that arduous but exciting process, the band experienced a flood that destroyed portions of their equipment. If that wasn’t enough, Bellows unfortunately found himself in a self-described “barroom tussle” that resulted in the complete and tragic blowout of his left eardrum. Fortunately, he and his ear recovered fully, and Neva Dinova was able to resume recording.
From the spacious guitar washes of “A Man and His Dream” to the sweeping, dusty strength of “Clouds”, this is the band’s most fluid and realized effort to date. You May Already Be Dreaming was self-recorded in the corner of a friend’s warehouse space in Omaha, NE, and later mixed with the help of Ian Aeillo at Presto!, Mike Mogis’ recording studio, in the fall of 2007.
