The second full-length CD from Luke Haines, Sarah Nixey, and John Moore features much brighter sonics and a slightly brighter lyrical outlook. The sound is attributable to the prominence of the '80s-sounding synths that form the music's bedrock, while the lyrics Nixey sings in her disarming, dry manner artfully limn the vicissitudes of romance rather than suicide and psychosis. The opening track, "The Art of Driving," sets the tone, its silken synth tones telegraphing the true vehicle of the song's tenor, driving, with its "Lay Lady Lay" progression. (Yes, that was a genuine literary pun. Sorry.) In addition to synths, Haines and Moore layer guitars, lithe drumming, and percussion like glockenspiel and xylophone with an interior decorator's flair for color and texture. At first listen, the whole thing sounds a bit glossy and substanceless, but the quality of the arranging and playing, and Nixey's careful lyrics, raise the recording well above blandness.

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