Love and Theft is a bit different from the group that scored a Top 10 hit two years ago with “Runaway.” But the changes that have affected the group—most notably, signing with RCA Records and downsizing to a duo—have actually brought Love and Theft closer to what it originally set out to be: a band that writes, records and performs honest, soulful country music.

While Stephen Barker Liles and Eric Gunderson are proud of their successful first effort