The boys in National Dust sure do clean up pretty good -- at least on record.

Tomorrow at the Night Gallery, the local quartet that's led by High Fidelity frontman Lorrie Matheson will release its sophomore effort Welcome To Utopia, an album as polished as a pearl-handled pistol and packs as much firepower.

Compared to their hastily produced and slop-happy roots-flavoured debut Blind Luck Ain't No Luck At All, it's a stunning progression, but one that fans shouldn't see as an about-face from the blue-collar indie rock ethic that's made them one of the most entertaining live acts in the city.

"It's not like I'm opposed to out-of-tune guitars and spontaneity, but I also like records that are made as records," Matheson says.

"It's not like we're all drinking beer and chasing skirts. There's a side to us that's craftsmanlike."

That side was was put to good use over the course of the 17 22-hour days it took to record the 13-track album with producer Dave Alcock.

But, as Matheson says, just as they were eager to get things right this time out, they weren't willing to sacrifice everything to attain that modest perfection.

"We had the Steely Dan bar," he says. "We would work on a song until we went, 'OK, we're getting into Steely Dan territory -- we better quit.' "

The album also moves National Dust -- which is rounded out by Pete Clarke, Ross Watson and Tim Leacock -- further into its own identifiable sound and away from the biggest complaint people have had about them since they formed three years ago, and that is they wore Matheson's influences (Wilco, The Replacements, The Jayhawks, etc.) far too openly.

Songs like Too Far Gone, Tragedy Ann, (Nothing On My Mind But) Nicotine and Miss Teen Priddis have a pure open-air prairie Pilsner feel to them -- with a sardonic lyrical hangover -- that makes them unmistakably Matheson.

But while he acknowledges that there probably is a National Dust sound, Matheson sees it more as an honest amalgamation of all of the parts -- including his bandmates' varied tastes and musical persuasions -- and unapologetically thinks Welcome To Utopia is what it is because of those influences.

"I don't really know what doesn't make this album sound exactly like those influences," Matheson says.

"I just think it sounds like us playing our record collections."