The Austin-made singer-songwriter duo dwell in the spaces left between contradictions and opposing forces. In fact, it’s where they’re most at home. As the title of their latest album suggests, they know intimately the ideas of using pain as a barometer of passion and giving as a means of gaining.

Their gorgeous, almost luminescent harmonies paired with cutting, contemplative songs, inspired by a musical grab bag of Simon and Garfunkel, Slim Whitman, The Swell Season, Bon Iver, even Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim, earned the duo a nationwide legion of fans; many bordering on, if not, obsessed. Just ask their wives who tour manage them.

But until recently, Kyle and Andy thought of their respective talents, words and melody, as elements on “separate continents” that they fit together—Andy’s voice and lyrics an audible sunbeam appearing in a dark and dusty room; Kyle’s lean, yet lush arrangements following unpredictable paths with acrobatic flourishes layered over grounded grooves.

But it was in writing and recording they let those roles bleed into each other. With the help of producers John Paul White (The Civil Wars) and Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes), they slashed unnecessary phrasing and stripped their songs down to their core.