On their 2011 debut, husband-and-wife team Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley played miniskirt-twirling girl-group tunes about a boat trip they took down the East Coast. It's a grabby conceit they don't try to top here; they just bang out a solid set of similarly Spectorian stuff, where surfy organ pipes and confectionary ooh-oohs get toughened by garage-rock production from the Black Keys' Patrick Carney. Moore is a Ronnie Spector minus any Sixties optimism or teen-dream illusions; on "Origins," the sense of betrayal almost feels biblical: "Will you make my children bear the consequences (everywhere)?" she asks her evil man. So much for sailing the sea of love.
Listen to "My Better Self":
Related• Photos: Random Notes
