TORONTO - After converting years of relentless touring into a Juno win and a major-label record deal, the Arkells have finally won the opportunity to introduce themselves to a much wider audience.

And they were careful not to overstay their welcome.

Sophomore record "Michigan Left" breezes by in just over 35 minutes, a disc of tuneful guitar rock songs that aim to pack the sugary jolt of a Pixy stix. Only the yearning night-crawler "Coffee" clocks in over four minutes, and the Hamilton band says that brevity was, well, carefully calculated.

"It's our second record -- we thought people were only going to give it so much time," said guitarist Mike DeAngelis in an interview this week in Toronto.

"So we might as well hit them, you know?"

Since releasing their debut disc "Jackson Square" in 2008, Arkells have earned a reputation for their fiery live show and melodic rock, which was both sufficiently stylish for discerning indie rockers and tuneful enough to wrest radio play.

But following the Juno win for new group of the year and the subsequent deal with Universal, the band faced heightened expectations for a follow-up that had been in the works for three years.

The primary hurdle? Attempting to capture the energy of their well-received live performances on disc.

"It's definitely a challenge for us," said frontman Max Kerman. "Live, we're able to get better at it by doing it a lot -- you're on the road and you play for a month straight, and you oughta be better at it."

"Recording (is) a whole different ballgame because figuring out how to capture your sound is pretty difficult, and you don't always know what you're going for and it's a learning experience."

"We're happy with the way this record turned out. But to say that we knew what we wanted to do going into the studio would be lying."

The band holed up at the Tragically Hip's Bathouse Recording Studio in Bath, Ont., for a month. Ultimately, they achieved a sound that buffs away some of their debut's rougher edges, opting for a record that's as clean and bright as a dentist's office, but still not exactly clinical.

The songs don't conceal their chart aspirations. "Where U Goin" bounces merrily on a bed of chiming guitars, the gently swaying "Coffee" features a powerful dose of handclaps while "Kiss Cam" transitions from infectious to downright insidious with the introduction of "oohing" backup vocals.

The music is light, and so are most of the lyrics. The deliberate pace of album closer "Agent Zero" would suit heftier subject matter, but the song is about eccentric NBA star Gilbert Arenas. "One Foot Out the Door" is one of the tracks clearly penned about a troubled relationship, but it's hardly anguished.

In other words, "Michigan Left" might feature the band veering closer to the middle of the road. But the Arkells are unapologetic about seeking a bigger audience.

"People are going to be discovering us on this record, and 'Jackson Square' is not going to mean much to them," Kerman said. "It's an exciting position to be in. And I think because it sounds different and it's a fresh release, then I think we're maybe going to be grabbing some new ears.

"But we're just excited that anybody cares that we're putting out the record to begin with."