NEW MUSIC: Smile Smile will release its new album, Marry a Stranger, on Aug. 14 via Dallas’ Kirtland Records. And when you talk about a Smile Smile album, you have to consider how the duo’s relationship informed the album, considering Ryan Hamilton and Jencey Hirunrusme’s engagement and eventual breakup were in the background of the band’s last two discs. Hirunrusme says that finally with this album, things are all good. “This album is probably the most truthful as far as us as songwriters and as far as production goes,” she tells dallasnews.com. “It’s a little more upbeat. It’s more hopeful. It’s starting fresh. This is what the band is going to be. We figured it out.”

KITCHEN DOG’S NEW SEASON: Kitchen Dog Theater has announced the lineup for its 2012-13 season. The season begins Sept. 7 with Gina Gionfriddo’s Becky Shaw – a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Another regional premiere comes in March with Kade Fodor’s RX. Details on every show are over at theaterjones.com.

THE BIG UNPACKING: On Sunday, the Dallas Museum of Art opens “Children of the Plumed Serpent: The Legacy of Quetzalcoatl in Ancient Mexico,” a nationally touring exhibition featuring work from 1200-1500. And since much of that work is made from gold, ceramics and other solid materials, you can imagine that it’s also very heavy. In fact, one of the pieces weighs three tons, which pushed the DMA to bring in some extra equipment to help get it into place. You can see highlights from the uncrating and assembling of the exhibition on the museum’s Uncrated blog.