Everclear frontman Art Alexakis wants to be very clear.
 
He didn't put strings and horns on some of the songs on his Portland-based trio's latest guitar-pop album, So Much For The Afterglow, just to hop on the latest musical bandwagon.
 
Even though another high-profile act, Green Day, has strings and horns on their latest release, which came out one week after Everclear's album.
 
"Truthfully, when I listen to their record, I think (Green Day's) Billie Joe (Armstrong) writes great songs, but I think they need to push themselves a little more to diversify and I think just putting different textures on isn't going to do that," Alexakis says during a recent interview in Toronto prior to Everclear's show tomorrow night at the Opera House.
 
"What I wanted to do was make a more pop record, not just with the textures, but with the basics of the song. I'm 35, I grew up with the Beatles and the Beach Boys. I like good songs."
 
Alexakis, seated on a couch beside mostly silent but amiable drummer Greg Eklund and bassist Craig Montoya -- both in their mid-twenties -- is now officially on a roll.
 
"We spent three and a half years in vans and buses playing the last record (1995's breakthrough Sparkle And Fade) for people," said Alexakis, who is Everclear's guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer.
 
"And I listened to some new music, but most new music really left me feeling kind of empty, and I've moved back to other music. In a lot of ways I think this record is, as far as the songs go, a kind of showcase of the music I was influenced by as a kid. But I think, that said, we feel like we've gotten closer to our own sound from record to record."
 
One thing is for sure, Alexakis has not given up on his tendency to "wallow in the mire," to quote another musicmaker.
 
A former heroin addict who grew up with five siblings and a divorced mother in the housing projects of Culver City, Calif., Alexakis lost his older brother and girlfriend to overdoses and survived his own suicide attempt and cocaine overdose.
 
Song titles on Sparkle And Fade included Chemical Smile, Heroin Girl and You Make Me Feel Like A Whore.
 
Afterglow continues that trend with songs about Alexakis' abusive then absentee father on Father Of Mine, and his mother's nervous breakdown on Why I Don't Believe In God.
 
Needless to say, a solo tour Alexakis did between the two albums helped him gain perspective.
 
"We were in the middle of making the record and I was too close to it," he says. "It was good. Actually, we figured we'd be done with the record by then, that's why I did this solo tour. But it was a good thing because it gave me a chance to get away. I was kind of away from the record for about a month. I came back into it focused, with a bunch of ideas, and got with the guys and we spent a month doing production and another month mixing it and it was great. It came out the way we wanted it."
 
In addition to tomorrow night's gig, Everclear return on Jan. 17 to open for Our Lady Peace's sold-out show at Maple Leaf Gardens.
 
Still, Alexakis prefers the vibe of the Opera House.
 
"I'm sure we could probably play a bigger place here as well, but what's the point? I love that place. It's a great sounding room. There's room on the floor for people to jump around, there's seats upstairs for people who want to sit down. It's a good time."