If trip hop's moody bloodline can be traced mainly to blues and cool jazz vocalists of the past, few have transcended the genre's raison d'etre to include a modern pop appeal. Enter Los Angeles-based vocal/production duo Bitter:Sweet, whose sensual and groove-friendly lounge pop, seems poised to break a wider audience. The duo's second album, DRAMA, combines Shana Halligan's alluring vocals with Kirhan Shahani's innovative genre-defying production work, creating a postmodern mingling of cool jazz and cutting-edge beats.