If so, you're in luck. From Grand Junction, Colo., comes the Love Letter Band, a trio of indie pop kids bent on capturing all the ups, downs, and reach-arounds of l'amour antique. The group's latest CD, Even the Pretty Girls Take Medicine (a split release on home-recording labels 555 and Red Square), features 13 numbers bursting with journal-honest lyrics, tentative but sincere vocals, and the kind of instrumental touches that separate it from a billion similar discs. On "I'll Fall in Love," LLB layers theremin and marimba beneath leader Chris Adolf's plucked guitar, making his hopeful lyrics -- "I'll move to Mexico/ I'll let the ocean wash away this pain" -- that much more endearing. On "Let's Go Drinking," the group's programmed beats and cascading marimba add levity to Adolf's downbeat suggestion that "You're so bad luck/ I'm a sitting duck."
Somehow, even with all the heartache, the Love Letter Band's tunes carry an air of optimism. On "Love Came Crashing Down," when Adolf sings, "Now I can start writing pop songs/ About you," it's never clear if he's just been dumped or smooched. Maybe that's the secret to the perfect love letter -- you lay your heart on the line, no matter what.
