'The Marrying Kind'

n Friday, the husband and wife duo of AJ Swearingen and Jayne Kelli will release their sophomore album "The Marrying Kind," where complexities of relationships are tackled with sincerity, harmonies and a little lap-steel flare.

The pair spent close to a year holed up in the studio writing and recording their self-produced second album.

"One of the downfalls of recording on your own is you can do 100 takes," said Kelli.

The 12-song recording features a modern country meets late western note progression on acoustic guitar, drums and piano, while the duo weaves sweet but not syrupy harmonized lyrics of love, loss, hope and hints at the widening divide between neighbors in towns across the country.

The couple said they have very different writing styles.

"'Let Your Freedom Ring', I wrote in the shower," Kelli said.

"I came out in a towel and had to grab pen and paper quick."

"The way Jayne writes, I've never seen anyone do it so fast," Swearingen said. "She sits down at a piano and it's done, I have a slower process in writing."

"Amends" on the duo's first album was their first co-written song, but Kelli said their new style really came together with their latest effort. AJ agreed.

"That's one we always end up going to because the duo harmonies are all the way through," he said.

"It's really a good representation of us and what we do together."

The body of work is a bit of a departure from the duo's first record with rock-n-roll undertones to classic country note progression.

Track "You Run Away," according to AJ is an Eagles' influenced song where he gets to slide across the strings of a 1936 Rickenbacker bottle neck lap steel guitar, using the flavor of the early '70s.

"It's not an easy instrument," he said.

"It's like what David Lindley did. He was a huge influence on me. He worked with Jackson Browne, so we brought that vibe back. I picked it up nine years ago and I feel I've developed my own style," said AJ.

The same could be said for Swearingen and Kelli, as throughout the album the pair has developed a unique and genuine emotional feel behind familiar lyrics.

"The Marrying Kind" displays the cultivated instrumental and preforming experience on its first released single, "Annalise."

Swearingen takes the vocal lead on this track, while Kelli lends her warm, throaty voice to harmonize and highlight the story of lost love.

"It's got a great reaction," said Kelli.

The couple have given performances alongside orchestras in Edmonton, Dayton and Cleveland, Ohio.

The pair will debut their newest work live on July 23 with the Cleveland Orchestra before starting their tour.

"It will be one of the biggest moments of our career," Kelli said.

Swearingen and Kelli met at a writers conference in 2009. Shortly after, Kelli began to sing backup vocals for Swearingen while he played lap steel in her band, but it was in 2012 when the couple really came together to form their own project.

"I started to not want to do it without her. She'd be playing somewhere and I'd want to be singing and playing lap steel with her," said Swearingen.

Swearingen was born in Bethlehem and grew up with classic country records of Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson.

"I love that music, but the folk records of the early '70s, like Gordon Lightfoot and Simon & Garfunkel, are what really fueled my desire to pursue a life in music."

At 13, he started playing guitar and began performing professionally in his late teens.

Kelli hails from the small country town of Lapeer, Michigan. She grew up listening to her parents perform songs by John Denver, Jim Croce and Glen Campbell around the campfire.

She began writing and recording her own songs at the age of 15. Her first song, "Sweetness," was chosen as an anthem song for the domestic violence foundations Victim Services International and Angel Wings International in 2015.

The duo will be performing in Swearingen's stomping grounds this summer with an Aug. 5 performance at Bethlehem's Musikfest. They'll make their way up the turnpike to Jim Thorpe on Aug. 6 to be featured performers on 40 Story Radio Tower at the Mauch Chunk Opera House, before returning to Musikfest on Aug. 10.

For more tour dates or to order the album, visit www.swearingenandkelli.com.