ing me in my inbox. I had never heard of The Submarines (@thesubmarines), but that night I set aside some time to listen to the album from beginning to end. Within about 45 seconds (seriously!) of listening to Love Notes/Letter Bombs, I knew it was love. I was so impressed that I immediately purchased the two other albums by John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard, the husband-wife duo.

Their first release, 2006’s Declare a New State, was the result of the couple’s break-up/reconciliation period and is noticeably mellower than the other two. Packing a bit of a punch that Love Notes/Letter Bombs seems to just barely lack, 2008’s Honeysuckle Weeks is actually my favourite of the three. In addition to featuring the awesome single “You, Me and the Bourgeoisie”, which was used in an iPhone commercial, this album is where they began to really hone in their musical strengths. After listening to the three collectively, I noticed that their overall sound has evolved in an incredibly mature, creative way.

Expertly produced, Love Notes/Letter Bombs has all of the sparkle, hand claps, and endearing lyrics I could hope for. They have an amazing way of being brutally honest about all of life’s downfalls while managing to keep in line with their cheerfully optimistic aesthetic. It’s certainly no easy feat to achieve that kind of balance. A kaleidoscope of memorable guitar licks and steady percussion are blended flawlessly with tasteful electronics throughout, keeping things consistent from song to song. The quality is unwavering, though it ebbs and flows between twinkling pop sounds and heavier, effect-filled noises that infiltrate your sweet little eardrums.

Each and every time I’ve turned on their music, I’ve fallen in love all over again. All it takes is hearing the first few seconds of the opener “Shoelaces”, one of my favourite tracks (if not favourite), for me to become giddy again. “Fire”, “The Sun Shines At Night” and “Tigers”(my other fave) are all ridiculously catchy, and I generally always find myself nearly screaming out the lyrics and dancing with enthusiasm. “Ivaloo” and “A Satellite, Stars and an Ocean Behind You” both have super sweet guitar parts and a pretty mellow vibe, which helps to round the album out. “Birds” and “Plans” highlight Blake’s vocal strengths beautifully.

Avoiding the terrible habit of some artists to select the wrong final song, their last track “Anymore” was the perfect choice for that spot and really seals the deal for me. It’s worth mentioning though, that you can buy the Deluxe Edition via iTunes and get two bonus tracks, “Forest Lawn” and a cover of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Just Like Honey”.

This is the type of album that’ll satisfy your indie-pop craving over and over. Guilty pleasure or not, you’ll definitely wanna submerge yourself in Love Notes/Letter Bombs.