By Nate Hayden

Boston’s local music community can be a bit all over the place. Jangly power-pop and noisy experimentation abound, often on the same bill. But it’s at the intersection of the two where some of the most memorable music is born, where catchy and progressive can be attached to the same band or even the same song. Apollo Sunshine, Berklee-bred and currently based out of Leverett, has perfected walking the line separating the two.

On their last full-length effort, the 2003 Spin Art Records release “Katonah,” Apollo Sunshine put forth a collection of super-quirky and irresistibly sweet pop-rockers forever peering over the ledge and threatening to fall into complete chaos. This time, on their forthcoming self-titled sophomore LP (out Sept. 13 jointly on Spin Art and Berklee’s student-run Heavy Rotation Records), Apollo Sunshine backs off the quirk and the cute to allow themselves a more natural approach while (fortunately) leaving their hidden intricacy and prepared weirdness in tact.

“It’s got a few less bells and whistles,” said guitarist Sam Cohen, which, as one spin of “Katonah” will confirm, he means quite literally.

While maintaining their distinctive sound, the new record takes on a more rootsy, country-influenced feel. Blues-influenced solos and throaty vocals share Apollo Sunshine’s sonic space with the synthesizer nuances of their previous work.

“We listen to all sorts of stuff, but we didn’t work on any country kick, no big binge. A few songs just turned out that way,” Cohen said. “I went home to Houston, Jesse [Gallagher, Apollo’s bassist/frontman] was in Europe, and these are the songs we came back with.”

Perhaps some of this shift can be attributed to the addition of guitarist Sean Aylward to the mix.

“It was a very organic thing, Sean joining,” Cohen said. “We had stayed with him out in L.A. He was around while we were writing. He came on tour, everything just sort of came about. We were like, ‘These are the new songs. Guess we have a new member.’ He brings a lot of energy to the band.”

Beyond energy, Aylward apparently also brings the dance moves when playing the song “Phoney Marony” live.

“There’s no real story to that one. I just wrote the words in a notebook and found them later with no recollection of having written them,” Cohen said. “The words start out all neurotic, and a few months later we found the tune that fit them. The dance was just a step of Sean’s.”

That “just a step,” however, seems to have taken on a bit more than that. Last winter, performing “Phoney Marony” on FOX 25’s morning show, the cast and crew were so enamored by the tune that Boston news-anchor mainstay Gene Lavanchy was convinced to have a go at the dance on live TV.

“That could be the high point of the Phoney Marony,” Cohen said. “That’d be an acceptable plateau.”

This past autumn, Aylward made a Boston debut of sorts with the band. At a show billed not as Apollo Sunshine but as Jesse Gallagher and Sean Aylward w/ Electric Zeus (“an all-improvisational side project of ours,” Cohen noted), the boys of Apollo Sunshine, along with a more-than-healthy smattering of guest musicians scattered to all corners of TT the Bear’s, drew a formidable crowd.

“Jesse and Sean had written some songs together, and they had started to take,” Cohen said. “We played those along with a few of Sean’s songs and some new stuff we didn’t want to do as Apollo Sunshine, so we did it as Electric Zeus.”

The set featured mostly country-influenced numbers (and no less than a few cowboy hats) that seem to have hinted at where Apollo Sunshine has taken certain aspects of their sound. But more so, it showed a city willing to emphatically support a favorite on their stages whether they were playing under their own name or not.

If Apollo Sunshine can throw a barn raiser like that pseudonymously, just imagine the party they can host with the Middle East flying the “Apollo Sunshine Record Release” banner. For all the keyboard freakouts, goofy dance moves and instantly sticky melodies one can take, head down to the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge this Friday to see Apollo Sunshine with openers Mazarin and Self Righteous Brothers (who have been known to throw down an excellent take on “Man in the Mirror”). Doors for the 18+ show open at 8 p.m. and tickets will cost $10 in advance and $12 at the door. If the love Boston has shown Apollo Sunshine in the past is any indication, get there early or risk not getting in at all.