Dead Rock West’s vocal harmonies light up ‘More Love’

Dead Rock West, the Los Angeles vocal duo of Cindy Wasserman and Frank Lee Drennen, last graced our speakers with “It’s Everly Time” (2015), a clear-eyed, non-nostalgic tribute to 1950s harmony kings Phil and Don Everly.

So it makes sense that performers who could pull off singing an album of Everly Brothers songs would sound just as good on returning to all-original material on their fourth album, “More Love,” with one exception, the soulful version of Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home to Me” that closes it.

Dead Rock West have toured with L.A. indie punk pioneers X in recent years, and have enlisted John Doe from X to handle production, and D.J. Bonebrake from the band to play drums.

The band’s midtempo driving folk-rock numbers, such as “Boundless Fearless Love” and the title track, have a jangling guitar undertow that adds punch to Drennen and Wasserman’s entwined vocal harmonies.

But the heart of the album lies in a brace of understated ballads where the pair’s interlaced voices truly shine.

Tracks such as “All This Time” and “Radio Silence” feature more delicate instrumental backing, but their strong melodies keep them grounded. It doesn’t matter who takes the lead — Wasserman and Drennen trade off throughout the album — the end results are quietly thrilling.

Wasserman’s solo turn, “Singing on the Telephone,” mesmerizes with its beauty, aided by softly weeping steel guitar floating in the background.

“More Love” won’t blow out your car speakers, but its strong melodic underpinnings, carefully crafted instrumental backing and those indelible, effortlessly gorgeous harmonies make it an understated gem of an album.