Manchester Orchestra, neither from Manchester nor an orchestra, released its sophomore album last Tuesday, titled “Mean Everything to Nothing.”

This disc, the follow-up to 2006 debut “I’m Like A Virgin Losing A Child,” may be the band’s breakout, thanks to catchier, radio-friendly tunes and peculiar but memorable lyrics.

Since “Like A Virgin,” the band has toured practically nonstop, built a strong core fan base and signed a record contract with Sony’s Canvasback imprint.

“Mean Everything” addresses perhaps the biggest shortcoming of “Like A Virgin” — the lack of quality producing.

Veteran producer Joe Chiccarrelli, known for keeping indie cred intact while expanding mainstream success with bands like The Shins, was on board this time.

“Like A Virgin” showed that the group of Atlanta men, now in their early 20s, had serious potential and definite talent, and “Mean Everything” now demonstrates they are capable of honing their sound to near perfection.

Frontman/songwriter Andy Hull’s lyrics are as deep, dark and distinctive as ever, and the wonderful weirdness of songs like “Golden Ticket” from “Like A Virgin” can be found all over the album. In “My Friend Marcus,” Hull sings “My friend Marcus, he sleeps in my basement / And his father touched more than spirit / Now he can hardly sleep, sleep.”

No song on the album could be defined as ordinary in any realm. Some lyrics, such as those of “In My Teeth” (“I felt a black man in my teeth, what a way / Jesus is coming, he acts my age, and he always looks the same / I said a good seed was on your break wasn’t a mistake anyway”), seem like nonsense with a purpose and meaning that only the author understands.

But that’s perfect for a band with both light-hearted listeners and diehard fans seeking the meaning of life.

Hull seems in the midst of a spiritual crisis for most of the album, screaming and singing out loud his innermost thoughts and suspicions.

On “The Only One” he addresses his religious upbringing as the son of a minister — “I am the only son of a pastor I know / who does the things I do / but if I was you / I don’t think that it would matter.”

Manchester Orchestra covers the necessary points about romance and coming-of-age disillusionment also. “I Can Feel A Hot One” premiered last fall on CW’s “Gossip Girl,” and another song was featured on an episode of “One Tree Hill.”

The most widely appealing songs on “Mean Everything” are “I’ve Got Friends” and “The Only One.”

Manchester Orchestra has emerged as a band to watch.

Reach the reporter at melanie.kiser@asu.edu.