Despite a maliciously spotty phone signal, So So Glos’ frontman Alex Levine was both patient and eager in discussing the Brooklyn-based punk rock band’s new fun, fast, and hugely satisfying sophomore album, Blowout. These two qualities also characterize the band’s careful balance between growing popularity and a loyalty to the DIY, “just your local punk rock show” culture. (They’re looking for places to crash after shows during their “Bring Back the Dudes” tour with Titus Andronicus; Patrick Stickles writes on the Titus blog that interested parties should get in touch with their name, phone number, and couch stats.)

The Glos consist of brothers (through blood and step-parents) and friend, Alex (vocals and bass), Ryan Levine (guitar and vocals), Zach Staggers (drums and vocals), and Matt Elkin (guitar and vocals), respectively. With an incredible lack of pretension, they’ve already created a niche for themselves in the annals of New York punk, having built up a presence since their childhood in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to subsequent moves in Manhattan and Queens. Landing at Shea Stadium in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Blowout is the band’s first record on Shea Stadium Records after logging time as performers and cofounders at the garage-sized venue, opening the door to all ages and becoming known as the “Shea Stadium Underlordz.”

“They’re definitely an extension of the So So Glos family,” Levine muses. “It’s kind of a starting over. It took us awhile after our last release in 2007 because we had our label [Warner subsidiary Green Owl Records] kind of attaching themselves and restricting us. We signed the exit forms onstage at Shea Stadium. This record has the energy of a first album, of being completely free and blowing off steam, and not really caring too much while making it. And the title, Blowout, I guess, is kind of a victory, a sweeping victory for the underdog. We like to think of ourselves as such.”

Being the underdog also injects a dose of romanticism (if that’s possible). Brothers Alex, Ryan, and Zack have been writing songs since they were children, knowing they wanted to be in a band before they could even play instruments. Levine comments, “The fact that we can’t play our instruments as well as some classically trained musicians, that’s where the punk energy comes from. It’s actually a stylistic approach, because we’re not the greatest musicians in the world.” Similarly, the Glos have an open, organic relationship with the environment that raised them. The intro on the song “Speakeasy,” a low-fi recording of a male voice freestyling the lyrics to Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” was recorded on the street from “a crazy character in the East Village who just sits around.” Their friends cover the band’s artwork; look out for a So So Glos comic strip coming soon. Above all they take advantage of the vast musical culture of New York, splicing influences into their songs from genres like NYC-based hip hop, which is often playing during off-peak hours at Shea Stadium.

“Anything from Wu-Tang Clan to Big L. But also, we’ve always listened to a lot, anywhere from British invasion stuff, or Woody Guthrie and folk music, which I really liked for this record. A lot of Motown too. We listen to everything. I remember when we were kids we had a couple of tapes in our car and there was like, Jackson 5, but also, I guess, Never Mind the Bollocks, that’s pretty punk,” Levine concludes wryly.

The album isn’t anything groundbreaking, but rather a well-executed and creative venture humming with a unique effervescence that perfectly complements the band’s tendency towards homage. Endearing cleverness prevails over almost ever track mainly through sonic collage, in either Alex’s seven-year-old voice poking through both intro and ending, or the flairs of guitar-shredding, brightly apocalyptic angst that recall The Clash, The Replacements, The Ramones, the Beastie Boys, Weezer, even Blink-182. It’s poppy, pugnacious punk rock with the twenty-something touch of angst over its generation ( “Lost Weekend,” “Xanax” ) but it’s also laughing right along with words meant to roar along with, like a huge blowout party soundtrack.

Levine emphasizes the importance of the community of live shows in cultivating a fan base in opposition to the unashamed bandwagon-jumping that the age of the internet has ushered in, which, for better or for worse, has created spiking statistics for bands who have skipped over the fierce first love of an underground scene.

“There’s a lot of headbanging going on at shows, a lot of energy and physicality. In the song ‘Speakeasy,’ for example, one of the many themes is that a lot of music and art is not meant to be taken in on a two dimensional screen where you’re so distant from it, it should be experienced, it should breathe and sweat and be alive. I think a lot of internet culture breeds apathy and cynicism and shuns emotion, in how anonymously you can be rude and get away with saying whatever you want without a face. And I think our whole generation is experiencing that. Going out and experiencing music and thinking for yourself and letting it move you, is the most primal and best way to get into music.”

In this sense, Blowout is a perfect showcase of the Glos’ character: four guys who are earnest, fun-loving, and impatient punk rock grassroots ambassadors, without any cult of bad-assery or strong political messages to impress listeners. All they want to do, says Levine, is to “get better at writing songs, and try to get people to feel more things.” Calling themselves underdogs verges on gimmicky, but the So So Glos have a backbone definitely worth rooting for.