New CD: Here comes ‘...Trouble’

Lisa Moscatiello thinks a CD’s title should prompt a question in listeners before they’ve even heard a note, and then they should listen carefully for an answer.

So if the question is ‘‘Trouble From the Start,” the title of her third independent CD, what’s the answer?

‘‘I got creamed in love,” laughs Moscatiello. ‘‘I knew it right from the beginning, ‘you were trouble from the start.’”

The answer opens a world of possibilities for the Arlington-born, Yale-educated Takoma Park singer- songwriter — and feeds her creativity.

‘‘I find the darker side of relationships more interesting,” says Moscatiello, although she notes her own long-term relationship with CD collaborator Bev Stanton ended amicably. ‘‘You need music when you’re in pain.”

And while she is quick to describe the music contained in ‘‘Trouble From The Start as ‘‘fun,” she admits that, for once, she has left behind the rollicking Celtic-folk themes that have categorized her music in the past.

‘‘Of all the different styles I did, the one that sticks out is Celtic,” she says. ‘‘And the last two CDs I did were all over the map: folk, country, Irish.”

This CD is a bit more lush. ‘‘Poppy” is the word Moscatiello keeps reverting to, and she doesn’t mean the red and black flower.

‘‘It’s different; it’s more focused,” she says. ‘‘A lot of people say they like variety, but I wanted to stay in the mood. I like — sometimes, anyway — albums that have one feel.”

That feel is a combination of the musical miasma that must be swirling in Moscatiello’s subconscious. She grew up singing in the church choir; at home, her dad, uncles and Italian-born grandparents favored Italian operas: lush, unsubtle and straight-to-the-point. There was Irish music, courtesy of a neighbor who loved the stuff — Planxty, Clannad, deDanaan — and then jazz and Cole Porter when she was at Yale. It was the ’80s, she explains: Folk was nonexistent and New Wave just wasn’t her thing.

Back in D.C., Moscatiello says, ‘‘the local musicians around here were like rock stars to me. The Dogs Among the Bushes — I loved them.”

If ‘‘Trouble From The Start” sounds less folkish than Moscatiello is expected to sound, Stanton is probably responsible.

‘‘Techno-music, hook music, soundscapes,” is how Moscatiello describes the techno-instrumentalist. ‘‘Her aesthetic was really accessible pop sounds with sophisticated arrangements.”

What’s more, Moscatiello says, Stanton served during recording as ‘‘the lounge police,” making sure the lush, jazzy stylings didn’t cross the line into smarmy.

‘‘I like songs that have really beautiful melodies, and songs that paint pictures,” she says. ‘‘I feel a little out of step with contemporary folk sometimes.”

And so, to further ensure that her music has a sound of its own, Moscatiello will perform with musical guests Fred Leider on cello and Phil Mathieu on classical guitar, along with her band, The Space Dots, which features Erik Wenberg (guitar), Robbie Magruder (drums), Jon Nazdin (upright bass), and Harry Appelman (keyboard).

‘‘It’s an arty band,” she admits happily. ‘‘It’s got some jazz influences, and you can pick that up if you’re musically astute.”

And even if you’re not, there’s Moscatiello’s easy way of making the personal universal.

‘‘When you play music, you have a way of connecting with people; you have an in,” she says.

Besides, she adds, ‘‘I’m so worried about taking myself too seriously that I don’t take myself seriously enough.”

Lisa Moscatiello and The Space Dots will perform songs from the forthcoming CD at 8 p.m. Monday at the Institute of Musical Traditions, 10701 Old Georgetown Road, Rockville. Tickets are $15, $12 in advance. Call 301-754-3611.

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