A bittersweet nostalgia lies at the heart of Imaginary People, the new album from indie roots duo Viv & Riley. Over tentracks, the pair applies an indie folk sheen to newlycomposed pop gems, a reworking of an ancient ballad, andeven an original fiddle tune, deftly weaving together the oldand new. In contrast to the sunny, lush production from AlexBingham of Hiss Golden Messenger, the lyrics leanmelancholic. “Kygers Hill” and “Sauvie Island” are both wistfulodes to locales where these two young master musiciansspent formative years developing a penchant for songwriting.Both musicians trace their original artistic inspiration to thedeep roots music they learned in their youths on oppositesides of the country. The duo’s continuing musical expansion is in part the fruition of their investment in themusic scene of their new home of Durham, NCwhich is known for its cross-genre collaborationand creatively articulated roots music. However,the tracklist is still peppered with pedal steel andthe rootsy fiddle and banjo trappings the pairemployed to acclaim on their previous tworeleases. As much as Imaginary People looks backto nostalgic yesteryears, it importantly marks thebeginning of a new direction for these songwritingvirtuosos.