by LORRAINE CARPENTER

"We had to have some dance numbers."

Kiss Me Deadly guitarist Adam Poulin is explaining the stylistic shift that has brought his band from their 2002 debut album Travel Light to its follow-up Misty Medley, out October 2.

"The first record was us just learning to play, learning to play together, and whatever sound [came out] was gonna be us. Although that record could be pigeonholed pretty easily."

And it's right there in the band's bios, courtesy of Blue Skies Turn Black and Alien8 (their old and new labels, respectively): emo/math-rock, a style that's since become a detail in a much bigger, more ambitious picture.

After wrapping up their studies and surviving "a weird personal dynamic" within the band, Poulin, singer Emily Elizabeth, bassist Mathieu du Montier, drummer Erik Petersen and part-time violinist Sophie Trudeau (godspeed, etc.) began culling more disparate influences, such as Sonic Youth and the Sugarcubes, and adopting more "free-flowing" writing methods.

"We went all in on this record and the only mantra we had was, ‘Make it over-the-top,' and there's no irony in that," says Poulin.

In a marathon recording session between Christmas and New Year's 2004, with what Poulin calls "the illusion of no limits to what we were gonna do," the band recorded Misty Medley with the Besnard Lakes' Jace Lasek.

Kiss Me Deadly's recent EP Amoureux Cosmiques - four songs that will appear, albeit heavily reworked, on the LP - features breathy vocals, saturated pop tones and melodies motorized by punk, explaining why Bloc Party recently hand-picked them as tour partners. Though quick to deflate the implication that his band is following a trend, Poulin admits to being inspired by indie rock's recent swing toward danceability. But don't expect Kiss Me Deadly to follow the example of the bands who implore their audiences to dance.

"There are bands that I don't mind [watching while] standing a bit lifelessly in the audience, but that's not to say that I'm not totally engrossed and amazed and on my ass, just not physically. I don't think I've ever danced after being ordered to. That just sucks."

With Fox the Boombox and guests at
la Sala Rossa on Friday, July 29, 9 p.m., $7

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