Jukebox the Ghost's sophomore album, Everything Under the Sun, begins much like its first album-a few seconds of solo piano instruments followed by the rest of the three-piece band before the distinct voice of lead singer Ben Thornewill jumps into the first verse. The difference between the two, though, becomes crystal clear on the first staccato note of the piano. Not only is the production value and sound quality vastly improved from the first album, Let Live & Let Ghosts, but the overall sound of the band has become tighter, stronger and more confident. From first note to last verse, the album is filled with catchy indie-pop hooks, memorable verses and riffs that can be appreciated on first or fiftieth listen.But who is Jukebox the Ghost? It is a three-piece, musically talented band that creates meaningfully goofy songs about everything from schizophrenia to falling in love to the end of the world. Its music is catchy; the lyrics are quick; and most of all, the musicians are downright fun. The three band members, Thornewill (vocals and piano), Tommy Siegel (vocals and guitar) and Jesse Kristin (drums), met in 2003 at college, as most great indie bands do. Since their initial introduction, their band has changed names from "The Sunday Mail" to their current name-Captain Beefheart and Vladimir Nabakov inspired. Since 2006, they have toured across America while finding time to record two albums, the first released in 2008 and the second released today. They even found time in their busy schedule to make their way to Brandeis to play a show at Cholmondeley's in 2008-what a treat. Their new album, produced by Peter Katis (Interpol, The National, Tokyo Police Club), contains 11 upbeat tracks that are fun to listen to, dance to and just enjoy.

The album begins with the track "Schizophrenia," a song that has quickly become one of my favorites on the album. As it turns out, I am not the only one who loves the song: David Letterman just brought the band on his show to perform on Sept. 1. What works so well about the track is that it combines upbeat but complex vocals and music with serious undertones. This isn't your 13-year-old next-door neighbor's bubblegum pop but instead a song equal parts catchy and deep. As Thornewill describes the song on his website, "Years ago I learned that often schizophrenics become schizophrenics in their early twenties after a traumatic experience. So the song is from the point of a schizophrenic who still has the wherewithal to talk coherently about his illness. Secondly, the song was born of the two piano melodies of the verses that were both technically very difficult to play and which, after I learned them, screamed 'schizophrenic.'" It is this deepness that makes Jukebox the Ghost so unique-they can make a song about a mental illness so apt but so fun at the same time.

The album continues with this trend on the following 10 tracks. The band's first single, "Empire," is "an extended metaphor of the heart as a castle. A keep is defined as 'the stronghold of a castle' thus: 'My heart, is my keep and you are threatening me. And the truth is that an empire, as is love, is hard to keep peaceful.'" As the metaphor progresses throughout the track, so does the music, transitioning from a slow opening lyric to an upbeat chorus and bridge. The song, about love and its ability to infringe on one's emotions and very core, shows Jukebox the Ghosts' ability to not only tackle obscure subject matter but also to relate emotional material.

Though all the tracks are extremely musically advanced, they are not all totally upbeat fun. Songs like "So Let Us Create" take a much more mellow approach with a soft drumbeat combined with piano and guitar that float through the back vocals. The instrumental bridge of the song sounds classically inspired and uses minimal broken and solid chords to create a beautiful sound that perfectly accompanies the song's message of creating a new path of love.

From track to track, the songs blend together so creatively-especially on the tracks "The Sun (Interlude)" and "Stars"-that sound so different but blend into each other in a way that even the most musically trained ear couldn't differentiate. "Stars," in particular, is a very difficult song to sing, especially considering that vocalist Tommy Siegel spent a lot of time during this album's recording recovering from vocal nodes, a tissue that grows on vocal chords that causes pain, hoarse voice and vocal fatigue. He sings it with skill and without any hint of injury. The song ponders, "What if we were created to gaze at the stars up above," a lyric that further exhibits the childlike metaphysical questions that their music marvelously incorporates; something that makes them so accessible to music fans of all genres.

From the jitterbug-esque beat of "The Popular Things" to the reflective rock of "Mistletoe," Under the Sun is filled, track after track, with music that restores some faith in a world filled with auto-tune and computer replacing instruments.

Hearing three talented musicians have fun, reflect, be deep and know their styles still so early in their careers reaffirms that there is still a lot of gas in the stove of true musicianship. It's something even Letterman can get excited about.

JustArts has paired up with Sneak Attack Media and Jukebox the Ghost to provide Justice readers with an exclusive contest: To enter to win one of three copies of this album, e-mail your name and address to artseditors@yahoo.com.