In this album, the band has successfully honed their subtle blend of indie pop songcraft and lyrical witticism down to a science (pun intended). In the two years since the release of their critically acclaimed 2007 debut, Love is For the Rich ùwhich NPR described as “deliciously low-key” and which elsewhere garnered comparisons to everyone from The Shins and Death Cab to shoegaze icons Starflyer 59 and Pedro the Lion ùthe band has toured the country with labelmates Emery and Ruth, played shows from Fargo to Florida, and diligently labored on perfecting the 11 songs that would eventually comprise Popular Mechanics.