Kevin Bronson on October 2nd, 2023

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Raise your hand if you loved Abe Vigoda. Raise your other hand if you loved not-the-actor-but-the-rock-band Abe Vigoda. Both hands up? OK, proceed.

Michael Vidal and Juan Velasquez, two of the agitators in the beloved indie band, have reunited for the first time in a decade, under the guise Cupid & Psyche. Their debut album of darkly romantic post-punk-cum-dream-pop, “Romantic Music,” comes out Oct. 13 via Felte.

“The thesis of the album is trying to transcend the limits of life and the struggle therein,” Vidal says. “There’s a lot of lyrics about feeling trapped or frustrated, and then trying to find a way out. There’s a lot of times I sing of hope and grasping towards love. But maybe in trying to escape, you take the wrong door, be it substance abuse or other vices.”

The early singles, at turns gloomy and bright, are full of dualities, too. Messy guitars, understated melodies and Vidal’s woebegone vocals ricochet through a sea of feedback and reverb. Yet as with many of the avant-garde bands of the ’80s and ’90s that might come to mind here, it’s the soundscapes that count, rip currents through despair and hope and back again. As the 6-minute tour de force “Serenity’s Pit” suggests, the romance in “Romantic Music” reflects not any obvious kind of love, but an affection for fighting the good fight.

||| Stream: “Spirit,” “Serenity’s Pit” and “Angels on the Phone”

||| Live: Cupid & Psyche celebrate their album release with a show Oct. 13 at Heavy Manners Library (1200 N. Alvarado), joined by Harmony Index. Tickets.