Book Of Love - Book Of Love (40th Anniversary Edition) (2026 Remaster) (2026) [Hi-Res]

New York doesn't always get the credit it deserves for synth-pop, but one of the genre's pre-eminent American practitioners—Book of Love—was very much a product of the city's scene. The group—Susan Ottaviano on vocals, Ted Ottaviano (no relation) on keyboards, Jade Lee on keyboards, and Lauren Roselli on keyboards—came together in the early 1980s, with roots in the art school world. Susan Ottaviano and Lee had studied at the Philadelphia College of Art before relocating to New York City; Ted Ottaviano and Roselli met at the School of Visual Arts. Their path to a record deal was almost comically straightforward: a demo of the song "Boy" reached New York DJ Ivan Ivan, who passed it to downtown legend (and Sire Records president) Seymour Stein, who signed them almost immediately.

The quartet had already opened for Depeche Mode on fifteen dates of the Some Great Reward Tour by the time their self-titled debut album arrived in April 1986. But Book of Love was a synth-pop record that sounded notably different from many of its British contemporaries. While much of the genre had favored theatricality and grand gestures, Book of Love instead found its strength in restraint. Susan Ottaviano doesn't belt, she observes; the measured quality of her delivery might initially read as cool detachment, but there's an insistent warmth that nonetheless pulls in the listener. She sounds like someone narrating her own emotional life from a slight remove, and it works.

Producer Ivan Ivan keeps the arrangements clean and deliberate to complement this approach. The synthesizers—a mix of Roland Junos, a Yamaha DX-7, an Oberheim Xpander, and others—are layered with care rather than stacked for maximum density. Overall, the record has a crystalline, CD-era texture that distinguishes it from the chunkier, more aggressive end of the genre. The drum programming is precise without being clinical, and while the album is appropriately propulsive from a rhythmic standpoint, all of the elements here have plenty of room to breathe.

"Boy" is compact and propulsive, built around a nagging melodic figure and chiming bells. "I Touch Roses" is more delicate—nearly wistful—with a melody that floats rather than drives. "You Make Me Feel So Good" is the closest the record gets to conventional pop euphoria; it earned crossover radio play for good reason. But the album rewards patience beyond its singles. "Late Show" is a blissfully funky instrumental, while "Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)" and "Lost Souls" are riding a moodier vibe. There's also a cover of "Die Matrosen" by Swiss post-punk group LiLiPUT, featuring a chorus built around whistling that’s definitely something of a choice but also fits perfectly here. Taken together, this is a considered and self-aware album made by people with strong aesthetic and melodic instincts, who were able to perfectly straddle the line separating art-pop and pop-pop. This 40th anniversary remaster restores the album to its original 12-track sequence, discarding the remixes that padded out a previous CD edition. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz