St. Louis identical-twin folk duo Dubb Nubb already had a string of charming releases, a Daytrotter session, national touring, and had landed on the roster of amazing DIY label Special Passenger Records, all before ever graduating from High School.

The bizarre thing about Dubb Nubb (and the factor that makes them truly, truly special) is that they manage to display the rough-edged charm of their youth and simultaneously flex extreme depth and experience as musicians and songwriters, writing sweeping, beautiful, emotionally complex songs with more fresh substance than most songwriters far older than these girls ever manage to tap into.

Their new album Sunrise, Sleepy Eyed is, like their body of work at large, a serious accomplishment. These teen twins, instead of writing songs about boys and being grounded and angst, draw from a complex ladescape of civic pride (mound city baby), family legend (Kindergarten Wedding), soldiers, graves, space, travel, regret, and on and on. Delia and Hannah Rainey are creative on a dizzying level, but never at the cost of a focused, personal tone. It’s truly muscular songwriting.

As far as orchestration, this is another big win for their album. Zoe-Ruth Erwin’s production finds the sweet spot between sparse (a common cop-out with this brand of folk) and too much ornamental density. Strings, glockenspiel and a variety of percussion make semi-regular appearances, but never interrupt the album chemistry by taking it more band-like directions or competing for attention. The additives just lift and build energy and then get out of the way. Erwin, who has recorded the twins before, treats the nuances of their distinct, sometimes quite powerful, voices perfectly. They’ve never sounded better.

Congratulations to the entire Special Passengers family on this fantastic album.