Mister Heavenly, a supergroup trio composed of Ryan Kattner of Man Man, Nicholas Thorburn of The Unicorns, and Joe Plummer of Cold War Kids, Modest Mouse, and the Shins, has just announced their sophomore LP Boxing The Moonlight for an October 6 release via Polyvinyl.

Kattner and Thorburn started Mister Heavenly in 2010 as a chance to collaborate for the sheer fun of it, and they soon invited Plummer to join them. After releasing Out of Love in 2011, the band started work on their second album, snatching a few days at a time whenever their cluttered schedules allowed.

The band has dabbled with ideas of love and affection on their 2011 debut record Out of Love, but this time, Mister Heavenly will turn that on its head with 11 scrappy songs that feature a generally tougher sound and sonic aesthetic.

“It seemed like it was a good idea to pivot from the subject matter of the first record,” Thorburn says. “That was maybe a more emotional thing, and I think this record is much more physical.”

The physicality is evident right from the start, in the hammering piano and terse rhythm that fuel opener and lead single “Beat Down.” And apparently, the band has taken influence from a more diverse background than the ’60s garage rock that epitomizes scrappiness. Seventies Krautrock band Faust was a big influence while the songs were being written, as was the sound of hip-hop production in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

“I personally hate albums where every song sounds the same,” Kattner says. “It all makes sense in the grand scheme of things. People are complicated. People have a lot of different vibes running through them at any given moment.”

Kattner added that, with this album, the band was trying to “write the perfect little nugget,” which is one of their long-term goals. He wants Mister Heavenly to be preserved through a potential apocalypse, even.

“When you find that melted jukebox, and that Mister Heavenly record is spinning, you’re going to try your damndest to find a coin to put in it,” Kattner said.

If you’re excited with what this album might contain, check out the album details as well as a lyric video for “Beat Down” below.

Boxing the Moonlight Tracklist
01. Beat Down
02. Blue Lines
03. Makin’ Excuses
04. Hammer Drop
05. George’s Garden
06. No Floor
07. Magic Is Gone
08. Pink Cloud Compression
09. Crazy Love, Vol. III
10. Dead Duck
11. Out Of Time