Ironically, Marching Band’s website says Pop Cycle was written during the “two coldest months in Stockholm,” and is a “musically darker record,” than their debut EP, Spark Large.

After just one spin, anyone with a soul would beg to differ. Unless you’ve been living in a magical land where Barney and the Teletubbies are your best friends, then the album is anything but dark.

The Swedish foursome has successfully littered their second LP with guitar riffs (“It Is Hidden”) and polished piano (“Another Day”) that would coax a cranky 96-year-old grandpa to tapping his loafers until they were buried in the ground.

In a world without press releases and Google, Pop Cycle, would come off as a non-stop, über-optimistic, 40-minute assault of grandiose, pure pop, noise.

Everything about this album is shiny and big. Ludvig Kennberg beats his drums like your life depended on it, even pouring on the cowbell for the album’s opening track, “Another Day”. The bass lines are fluid, and on top of it all are Eric Sunbrig and Jacob Lind harmonizing with the joy of two boys who just found their fathers’ stash of 1970’s Playboy magazines.

Sometimes it feels overwhelming, and the songs are a good example of the disturbing trend in modern music to mix everything way too loud. It’s clear that the band is devoted to elaborate instrumentation in their songs and simplicity doesn’t really register with Marching Band. For better or worse, almost every cut in Pop Cycle indulges in the miracle of multi-track recording.

Still, for all the noise and complication, Marching Band still gets it right.

“When I’m In A Change”, epitomizes all that is right with Pop Cycle. It’s a triumphant testament to huge guitars, thick bass, and swelling organ that make you feel like all is well in the world. Metallophones and synth are beautifully mixed behind the thick tone of pulsating bass and drums that make your chest feel like exploding.

Unlike the icy conditions it was created in, Pop Cycle is a warm record meant for meaningless car rides and long nights in the sweltering summer heat, just don’t expect it to be an album you’ll spend the rest of your life with.