Book of Love - Book of Love

Four art school friends from Philadelphia made one of the great sleeper synth-pop records of the 1980s, and forty years later it's finally getting the vinyl reissue it deserves. Susan Ottaviano, Ted Ottaviano, Jade Lee, and Lauren Roselli formed Book of Love in 1984, building lush, melancholic electronic pop out of Oberheim and Yamaha synthesizers, an Emulator sampler, and Susan's cool, detached vocal delivery. At a time when the synth scene was almost entirely male, Book of Love brought a distinctly feminine point of view to the genre, and it set them apart immediately.

Their break came when the song "Boy," a wry slice of teenage longing, made its way to producer and DJ Ivan Ivan, who passed it along to Sire Records founder Seymour Stein. Stein signed the band on the spot, and Ivan Ivan produced the resulting debut album, released in the spring of 1986. "Boy" became a college and club radio favorite, but it was "I Touch Roses" that turned into the band's signature moment, climbing to number eight on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and becoming a fixture on dance floors for years afterward. The album also earned the band a high-profile platform when they opened for Depeche Mode on two separate tours.

This 40th anniversary edition marks the album's first official vinyl reissue since that original 1986 pressing. Newly remastered and pressed on crystal clear vinyl, it brings all twelve tracks, including "Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)," "You Make Me Feel So Good," and "Yellow Sky," back into circulation for a generation of synth-pop fans who've only known this record from streaming or secondhand copies. A foundational piece of 80s electronic pop, finally back on wax where it belongs.