Montreal rock act the Stills will release their sophomore effort, "Without Feathers," May 9 via Vice/Atlantic Records. It's the follow-up to 2003's "Logic Can Break Your Heart," which reached No. 39 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart.

Several changes were made to the group and during the recording sessions. Touring keyboardist Liam O'Neill joined the group full-time, and singer/guitarist Dave Hamelin joined producer/co-manager Gus Van Go for production duties.

"None of the songs were written in the studio," Hamelin tells Billboard.com. "To save money, we wrote around the studio time. Usually bands spend a lot of time on recording their first record, because no one has heard them, and there is no pressure to have something out there. We did the opposite. Our first record was recorded fast and this time we took our sweet time doing things."

A number of the Stills' Canadian colleagues made appearances, including Metric's Emily Haines on the moody rocker "Baby Blues" and Sam Roberts, members of Broken Social Scene and Jason Collett, who offer vocals and hand-claps on the acoustic guitar and organ-splashed "Oh Shoplifter."

"One thing that has changed is that it's all in major keys," Hamelin says. "A lot of people think of us as gloomy; it's a lot less gloomy, but the context is the same." Adds guitarist/vocalist Tim Fletcher, We wanted to explore different emotions, and come up with different ways of expressing."

The Stills are in the middle of a short club tour of major markets in North America. Another North American run is on tap for June, followed by a September U.K. outing. Before December, the group plans to hit Europe and Australia.

Here is the track listing for "Without Feathers"

"In the Beginning"
"The Mountain"
"She's Walking Out"
"Helicopters"
"In the End"
"Oh Shoplifter"
"Interlude"
"Halo the Harpoons"
"It Takes Time"
"Destroyer"
"Baby Blues"
"The House We Live In"