First off, let's leave the East Coast, West Coast and South out of this discussion. Even if you compiled a list of important musical cities in the Midwestern United States, the city of Sioux Falls, S.D., isn't cracking the top 100.

But the scene's lack of variety breeds support for its main representatives, as evidenced by the mindset of the indie rock collective We All Have Hooks For Hands.

"We all kind of support what we are doing and pushing out musically," says singer/guitarist Eli Show. "We kind of wanted to grab everybody."

They didn't grab EVERYBODY, but they came pretty close for their debut album, "The Pretender," released on Afternoon Records in 2007. The record of quirky, lo-fi indie rock ditties featured WAHHFH's core members - Show, Isaac Show and Tory Stolen (Both on drums. That's right. Two drum sets), Tim Evenson (guitar, vocals), David Lethcoe (keyboard, trumpet) and Logan Borchardt (guitar) - while also showcasing additional members playing everything from violins and keyboards to washboards and tambourines.

But their follow-up, the recently released "The Shape of Energy," improves on its predecessor in every way. Part of it might be the recording process. Instead of recording every part on single tracks, they decided to practice extensively, stuff all nine members involved in the album into the studio and record it live with only a few additional tracks.

Eli Show remembers the good vibes he got trying a more organic approach.

"We were told that it helps with the energy of the recording, and after kind of going through it, not following a click track is amazing," he says. "Just going off of everybody's natural tempos ... is just way better."

But recording method means squat without a good melody, and "The Shape of Energy" has plenty of solid ones that invoke instant joy as they burrow deep into your eardrums. Whether it's the propulsive rhythms and My Morning Jacket Southern guitar bigness of "Howlina And Bellowing" or the album's lead single "Made Up Of Tiny Lights," where WAHHFH comes off as a raucous version of The Shins circa "Chute Too Narrow." But through all the tracks, Eli Show sings in an unhinged hybrid of hard-core punk and full-voiced abandon that could serve as a representation of the group's mission at large, whether they're in the studio or performing live.

"Everything's just big and loud and fun and we just push everything fast," he says. "You kind of need to express yourself as hard as you can."

We All Have Hooks For Hands performs with Tareltone and Target Market starting at 10 p.m. Dec. 1 at Record Bar. For more information, visit www.therecordbar.com.