Following up on yesterday’s Broken Bells post is another release by an indie supergroup. Of course the phrase “supergroup” is a bit of a stretch for either of these bands, given the relatively low profiles of their members.

The Both is a collaboration between Aimee Mann, who I adore, and Ted Leo, who is completely new to me. Leo is a punk-rock songwriter and performer who has been recording with various bands for 23 years. He and Mann have been friends for the past decade and started this professional partnership in 2012.

This collaboration makes a lot of sense on paper, as Mann and Leo bring very different talents to the table. Melancholy soft pop and grungy, hard-edged guitar rock could be the peanut butter and chocolate of the music world.

And blissfully, that’s pretty much how it worked out.

I hear a lot of Mann in these songs, but there’s a roughness to the record that is clearly due to Leo. And unlike Broken Bells, these two collaborators trade off lead vocals, so the result feels like a true collaboration.

While I’d probably prefer a solo Aimee Mann release overall, I do like the spirit of albums like this one. It’s the sort of off-the-cuff improvisation that today’s musical landscape makes more and more possible.