"Sweden is bizarre," says Retribution Gospel Choir leader Alan Sparhawk over the phone from Gothenburg. "They don't have any pot here."

How do they exist, I wonder half-facetiously.

"I don't know," he replies. "I think they just drink a lot."

This is just one of many surprises Sparhawk reveals during our brief interview. Most music fans know Sparhawk as the guitarist/­vocalist of slowcore legends Low, where he shares vocal duties, a home, and Mormon faith with Mimi Parker. In that band, Sparhawk sings in an angelic, hushed manner akin to Galaxie 500's Dean Wareham. On the phone, Sparhawk's speaking voice is deep and gruff, à la Buck 65 and Ken Nordine.

Sparhawk's newer project, Retribution Gospel Choir, offers more unexpectedness: They're a full-on, classic-rocking beast that at least double the volume and girth of Low at their hardest (2005's The Great Destroyer and 2007's Drums and Guns). Along with Low bassist Steve Garrington and drummer Eric Pollard, RGC have just released their second album, 2 (Sub Pop), with production handled by Matt Beckley, whose résumé includes work for Britney Spears, Avril La­vigne, and Paris Hilton (yet another shocka).

Whereas Low are lauded for their remarkably restrained, methodical, and minimalist approach to rock (see 1994's I Could Live in Hope for possibly the most sublime example of slowcore ever), RGC appear to serve as a cathartic outlet for Sparhawk to get on a Crazy Horse on loan from Neil Young and ride it into the wild red yonder. Think of RGC as a respite from the missus and an excuse to let it all hang out with boys. Sparhawk, however, doesn't view it in such a clear-cut yin-yang manner.

"It doesn't feel so much like an alternate or a balance," he says. "There's definitely some release and a volume and dynamic range that's larger with Retribution Gospel Choir. But it feels similar for me to Low in the intention and intensity and the full emotional connection you have to have with the music while you're playing it. There's definitely times [with RGC] when I feel that the guitar's really exploding and going out to the limits, whereas with Low it was more like trying to sound large but small. I keep going back to the image of the horse that's on the edge of out of control and you're barely holding on. With Low, there's more of a subtle change in direction here and there."

2 is the sort of stadium-indie-rock album that you'd expect from a group that's opened for Wilco and Meat Puppets. Sparhawk's voice often recalls Shudder to Think's Craig Wedren, sometimes reaching for a dramatic vibrato that doesn't play to his strengths; ironically, he's much better in intimate-choirboy mode. "Workin' Hard" sounds like something one would hear on AOR radio in the Midwest circa 1979—a muscle-car anthem with a riff that Blue Oyster Cult would kill for. "Poor Man's Daughter" trudges like a Mastodon in a tar pit, a burlier 21st-century counterpart to Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer." "White Wolf" bears the menacing aura of mid­period Monster Magnet. Oddly enough, the best track on 2 is the 43-­second scorcher "'68 Comeback."

Retribution Gospel Choir's self-titled 2008 album was produced by slowcore maestro Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon) and released on his Caldo Verde label. It's a fine work, but not as ambitious in scope or as filled with memorable hooks as 2. The decision to have Beckley produce 2 initially seems strange, but the outcome is very good.

"I've known Matt Beckley for a long time," Sparhawk says. "From knowing his taste, sense of humor, and what he liked about rock, I just thought he'd be good. He... seemed to understand what we're doing and was anxious to try it out. If you look at his full résumé, you'll see he's worked with a lot of different people... He's got the skills and he's perverse enough—I think that's why we worked with him. I told him to be bold—it's a rock record. We didn't choose him because we wanted that Maroon 5 sound. He understood what we were trying to do."

It's well-known that Sparhawk's a Mormon and the moniker Retribution Gospel Choir has obvious religious overtones. Is he hoping to save people with his music?

"It's a part of me and it comes out in the music," he states. "I don't feel like I'm here to change anybody's mind or fix anything. I've never been intentional about it, but... I don't censor it when something referential to religion or spirituality comes up while I'm writing. It always felt honest. I don't think anyone's felt too threatened by us trying to preach. I'm not going to deny that I think music's a beautiful, God-given thing that could potentially be part of true happiness. Music has potential to change the world and change minds for better. I think everybody's talking about religion. Even Motörhead's struggling with reality."

And has Sparhawk heard any Christian-oriented rock that's amazed him?

"No."