The Roches have defined their own style of fearless folk on seven albums since 1979, indulging their sense of humor with jabs at jerks on the loose and other nightmarish amours. Yet beneath Maggie, Terre and Suzzy's shimmering vocals and goofy thematic tangents flows a melancholy undercurrent that belies the trio's outward insouciance. In fact, their more introspective writing is their most compelling. The Roches evoke the wistful existence of women who survive romantic warfare but can't quite retrieve their hearts at the end of the fray.

On A Dove, the Roches abandon much of their cuter shtick in favor of a decidedly darker tone. Though they have usually written in tandem or as a group, the sisters composed ten of these eleven tracks individually. The result is a succession of lonely and brave confessions, mirrored by delicate arrangements of the trio's cascading harmonies. Produced by Stewart Lerman (Jules Shear, Willie Nile) – who understands artists who straddle the fine line between folk and pop – A Dove delves into the pitfalls of emotional emancipation.

From the chiming reproach of Terre's "Ing" ("Will we be marrying/Instead of parting/Or are you still singing/The praises of waiting") to the forthright self-realization in Suzzy's "Somebody's Gonna Have to Be Me," the heart of the matter is negotiating a dying relationship. Suzzy opts for a straightforward gamble in "Answered Prayers" ("I am asking/Now you don't have to/Make me beg you/Marry me"), whereas in the soulful "Expecting Your Love," Terre simply gives up on passionate expectations. As Maggie sketches abstractly in "A Dove" – a song replete with airy non sequiturs – love is a messy trail of ruin and rebirth.

Musically restrained and beautifully executed, A Dove speaks to the souls of the wounded. And though it doesn't entirely lack the Roches' whimsical asides, the album stands as a somber departure for a group usually intent on finding a quick, funny fix. Whatever the current fashion, wearing their hearts on their sleeves – stripped of self-protecting nudges and winks – becomes them. (RS 638)

KARA MANNING