This split EP finds two Omaha, Nebraska, bands making indie-folk prettiness out of all the depression that can befall a twentysomething. Neva Dinova acquit themselves with Gram Parsons-y ballads, but the star, predictably, is Bright Eyes' boy genius Conor Oberst, who's so adept at shambling tunefulness that he can make even levelheaded skeptics want to sing alongwith his emoting about "a comedy so dry and black it makes my stomach hurt."

“Too Close”

Next was formed in Minneapolis when the uncle of Terry "T-Low" and Raphael "Tweety" Brown, who was a gospel choir director, introduced the brothers to Robert Lavelle "R.L." Huggar. Sounds of Blackness singer Ann Nesby groomed the R&B group before handing them over to Naughty by Nature's KayGee, who wrote and produced "Too Close." The idea for the song was sparked "from a conversation we had with several girls at a nightclub," explained T-Low. "It's talking about the club scene, with guys getting out of hand and the female telling him to back up, asking, 'What are you doing?'"