Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs spent the 60’s singing about love, social unrest and the country’s ever changing political landscape. They were two of the greatest songwriters of that generation. Things are way different now, but most everyone is still flirting with love, and you’d have to be unconscious to be able to ignore what this country has been through lately.

That’s where Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra frontman Andy Hull come in. They’re two of this generation’s finest songwriters. And while Hull has mostly leaves the political commentary stuff to Devine, their newest co-op – Bad Books – packs each of the boys’ best qualities into 35 minutes of pure, unabashed, folk/rock/pop/simply good music that leaves the foreboding nature of Hull’s Right Away, Great Captain! material behind and trades it in for more lighted material like Bad Books’ lead-single, “You Wouldn’t Have To Ask.”

The track clearly features backup instrumentation from Hull’s other band (Manchester Orchestra guitarist Robert McDowell produced the album), but is buoyed by Hull ditching his usual delivery and utilizing Devine’s trademark, well-annunciated, über-alliterated, lyrical intonation to deliver the song’s lyrics over vocal harmonies that are front and center in the mix. Even though a few songs find the pair reverting back to their comfort zones (Hull on “I Begged You Everything” and Devine on “Mesa, AZ”), the album’s many high points happen when they take a page out of each other’s notebooks and slide a few edits into the mix.

“The Easy Mark & The Old Maid” starts off with Devine telling the story of men who “collapse at race tracks” and “wilt in casinos” with the conviction that only he can convey before Hull colors the choruses of the three-and-a-half minute song with eerily warm and harmonious “oohs” and “ahs.”

Hull puts the melancholy back on full blast for the open-tuned “Texas,” but he steals the show on “Baby Shoes,” which is, hands down, this self-titled debut’s greatest offering. The cut’s overly simplistic riff isn’t instantly likeable and the rhyme scheme seems elementary, but repeated listens eventually reveal all of the song’s brilliant sonic wrinkles. Open ears will detect percussive guitar strumming, fuzzy textures, guitar flourishes, and a subtle harmony courtesy of Devine that finds the pair singing, “I’m a dick/your around/I am bound and terrified of making sounds.”

Despite the lyrics’ seemingly unfocused message, let’s hope that Devine and Hull really aren’t afraid of making sounds because what they’ve got here is some truly beautiful noise.