Hear Nebraska

by Chance Solem-Pfeifer | courtesy photo Expressing yourself, confessional songwriting and art reflecting self. Jake Bellows has a two-word retort: “Who cares?” The longtime Omaha songwriter and former frontman of the now-defunct band Neva Dinova contradicts an entire dictionary of the romantic songwriting terminology with his first solo album New Ocean. Released on Saddle Creek in August 2013, the album postulates using music and art as tools for projecting a healthier, brighter future for humankind and the world, as opposed to a force that propagates one person’s human experience. While the conclusion may seem obvious to Bellows, he knows the execution of such songwriting is uncommon. “I think every artist thinks that, too,” he says. “They just haven’t considered what their art is for.” When Bellows returned to Nebraska in mid-January for a pair of solo performances, he reflected on the broader themes of New Ocean, a record for which his primary influences weren’t musical contemporaries of Neva Dino