Following the melancholy Where Have All My Friends Gone?, BOYO's second album of 2020, Alone Together in Los Angeles, showcases a lighter side of songwriter/producer Robert Tilden. Unofficial companion releases, both albums were sourced from material written around the same time. The songs that appear on Alone Together, including the synth poppy opening track, "Tough Love," and the slinky "Feel," have a brighter disposition as a group, if lyrics still grapple with isolation and an uncertainty that's seemingly reflected in the record's murky textures. On that point, delay, warped pitches, and voice effects still factor heavily in BOYO's presentation here. Even a song named after "OCD" ("I touch things twice/I can't play nice"), with its mix of jangle and fuzz, has a poppy melody and driving, lilting bass presence. Later in the track list, the melodic bass line on "Flashbacks" is accompanied by carnivalesque, timekeeping keyboard chords and a filtered falsetto that focuses on things that were never attempted. The bouncy, uptempo bedroom post-punk of "Ghost Noise" likewise surrounds paranoid lyrics with a buoyant soundscape. There are downcast entries on board, too, such as the regretful "Father," a slower, more sustained track that mixes grungy guitar tones and a wailing synth line, and "Paradise," a bittersweet closing ballad about being able to rely on friends in a desperate moment. On the whole, though, Alone Together in Los Angeles acts as a refracted version of Where Have All My Friends Gone?, one that stays loyal to a carefully crafted sound design while playing with disposition.