TROUBLE BOOKS - Love at Dusk

"The follow-up to 2012s well-received Concatenating Fields, Love at Dusk finds the Ohio-based husband/wife duo of Keith Freund and Linda Lejsovka further developing their enchanting approach to songwriting, one which juxtaposes highly-detailed sound design and synthesis techniques with beguiling pop sensibilities. After a brief but labyrinthine opener, Profile of Woman in Silk Hood" blooms seductively into being, with Lejsovkas vocals set adrift over a bed of constantly evolving synths that surround a driving bass line and propulsive drum machine arrangement. Its simultaneously airy and dense, abstracted and familiar -- and its a prime example of what makes the Trouble Books sound so unique and arresting. Later, "Unfolded" conjures a plaintive atmosphere from panning oscillations and a hopeful piano refrain. The instrumental masterfully navigates a space between optimistic and chary, a tension which plays out throughout the record and encapsulates well the feelings of excitement and uncertainty that characterize pregnancy and childbirth (Lejsovka was pregnant with the couples first child during the gestation of the album). With Love at Dusk, Trouble Books present what is arguably their finest work to date, an album of songs that feels both honest and matured and wears its influences (both musical and lived) proudly on its sleeves. Trouble Books are Keith Freund and Linda Lejsovka. The album was mastered by James Plotkin. Artwork was designed by Jacob Feige. Includes a download code. Released in a run of 400 copies." - MIE.