At some point after they fell in love, started a band, released their debut album and got engaged, Dallas-based folk/art-pop duo Smile Smile hit the wall hard -- a point, owing to infidelity, that would normally doom any sort of future relationship together. But rather than simply split and walk away from the wreckage, Ryan Hamilton and Jencey Hirunrusme decided to continue their musical connection and create the haunting Truth On Tape or what Hamilton succinctly describes as their "break up record". Somehow "lovesick punch", a term one critic used to describe the band's debut album, takes on a whole new meaning with this unapologetically naked new album (right down to the cover).

"You fill me with lies" sings Hamilton on the deceptively sweet-sounding title track with Hirunrusme answering "and I refuse to change anything". "What went wrong?" they ask in harmony, giving the listener a taste of the bleakly bittersweet observations to come. Still, even after songs such as "Cancer" and "Beg You To Stay" take their emotional toll, the clarity of their remarkable bloodletting makes Truth On Tape, due February 9, akin to trying to look away from a disastrous collision -- albeit one composed of sublime melodic pop. "I feel like these songs are hopeful, devastating and so personal to us," says Hirunrusme. "I hope that it can reach out and speak to anyone who has had their heart broken…” Recommended.

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Smile Smile - "Truth On Tape" (from the album Truth On Tape)

Smile Smile - "Beg You to Stay" (from the album Truth On Tape)

Live Photos: Bill Ellison