Tragically, Neva Dinova is no longer with us. Her first act after having shuffled off this mortal coil was to lend her name to her grandson Jake Bellows’ band.

Although, with such sterlingly-named personnel as singer Bellows and the literally unbeatable Heath Koontz, it’s a pity they had to use anybody else’s name. They ought to have gone for ‘The Bellowing Koontz’ or some such.

Anyway. This album is very listenable, with some gentle and engaging tunes, but it never seems to venture far from a benchmark of Americana folk/pop/rock standards, pitched between Neil Young and Conor Oberst. In fact, they released a collaborative record with Oberst’s Bright Eyes in 2004, and are now signed to his label Saddle Creek.

Furthermore, considering they also hail from Omaha, they do appear quite closely linked. However, musically, their similarity ends after the record’s sound; it lacks the emotional resonance of Bright Eyes’ work, but still has plenty of good moments.

Mike Bloss