The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir’s second album is the work of an indie-rock collective that numbers in the double digits. Various musicians tag in and out as each song passes, throwing caution to the wind and order to the wolves. Sound familiar? This Chicago-based group has far less in common with Broken Social Scene than it might seem — all songs are written primarily by the Welsh-born Elia Einhorn, and, despite the vast number of contributors, the record is times a minimalist effort, with much more focus on lyrics than music.

Thanks to its sequencing, the album seems to age as the track list plays out. It opens with the exuberant, Clash-like “Aspidistra,” about youthful indiscretion and drug use, bargaining with the cops and dealing with parents. As the album goes on, it seems to enter middle age and depression. Themes of religious doubt, paranoia and suicide enter in on “Obsessions” and “In Hospital,” as the musical accompaniment gets less and less complex. As the album draws to a close with “Everything You Paid For,” vocalist Ellen O’Hayer reminds us that “you’re always a stone’s throw from the great beyond.” As the resignation of the album sets in, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir feels simultaneously comforting and depressing, like an old drinking buddy.