Love Notes/Letter Bombs

The Submarines continue to erase the border between indie pop and electronica-lite on Love Notes/Letter Bombs, the couple's third collection of tortured, peppy love songs. Having shared frontman duties on their 2006 debut, the two have settled into their individual roles by now, with Blake Hazard serving as lead vocalist and husband John Dragonetti -- who composes music for commercials and television shows during the band's downtime -- taking responsibility for most of the instrumentation. Dragonetti's experience with TV music has influenced the band before, with two cuts from the sophomore effort Honeysuckle Weeks winding up in iPhone commercials soon after the album's release. The songs on Love Notes/Letter Bombs are similarly jingle-worthy, and Dragonetti explores some interesting territory throughout the album, combining synthesizers and tweaked, computerized sounds with the organic hum of acoustic guitars and handclaps. Sonically, it's the Submarines' most interesting record to date. ~ Andrew Leahey