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The Constantines perform "Arizona"

Soon enough/Work and love will make a man out of you/Through and through/Soon enough,” sings Bryan Webb with aching hopefulness on the Constantine’s “Soon Enough.” Pining for maturation and the promise of fulfillment, the song is a staid and mellow number that segues into the pounding drums and staccato guitar of “Working Full-Time.” This back-to-back blast from 2005’s 10-song tour de force Tournament of Hearts is a testament to the skill and craft of one of the finest bands in Canada at the moment.

Expertly, against obvious incongruities, the Constantines have created a stirring hybrid that channels the everyday pathos and travails that are bedrock to the work of Bruce Springsteen, skewering it with expressionist power and then delivering it with the precision, intensity and dissonance of post-hardcore icons Fugazi. The key to the Constantines’ sound is that push-and-pull dynamic. Soft soundscapes crescendo to earsplitting, blasting noise—not to discredit the band’s ability to deliver palpable melodies. At the center of the swirl is the rasp and crafted poetics of Webb, again fitting into the overall dynamic, exerting a hushed sound to gnarling howl.

Here’s a band that has found the power and glory of unbridled rock and roll but also the weighty raison d’etre and resculpturing of art rock’s airs, all glued together with punk’s directness and “no rules” spirit. This is what the Constantines are all about.

Forming originally in the Toronto, Ontario suburb Guelph, vocalist/guitarist Webb, guitarist/vocalist Steve Lambke, drummer Doug McGregor and bassist Dallas Wehrle began playing together in 1999 after collectively serving time in a series of emo-core outfits.

The band’s self-titled debut made it into the world in 2001 on the cool Canuck indie Three Gut Records and was instantly heralded by the press and fans in the underground. It earned them a nod in Canada’s Junos with a nomination for Best Alternative Album. The album remained import-only in the US until Sub Pop signed the band and reissued it after the success of the muscular follow-up, 2003’s Shine a Light. The album marked a significant moment in the band’s ever-shifting and growing sound with the addition of Will Kidman on keys. His whirring organ on the brutally great “Scoundrel Babes” and the subtle meshing of keyboard with searing guitars and heavy beat on the triumphantly anthemic “Young Lions” added a new wrinkle to an already magnificent rock band.

This too is a band that knows how to have fun while paying homage to an influence. The band has consistently issued EPs and singles, and the latest stopgap recording between Tournament of Hearts and a new record—expected by the end of this year—was as their alter ego Neil Young tribute band, Horsey Craze. Sharing half of a vinyl-only release with the Gord Lightfoot-covering Intended (featuring Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo), the band ripped through gems from ol’ Neil’s repertoire. Just when you thought you had the Cons pegged, they show they know that rock and roll is not just a place of broody darkness and existential struggle.

Ending a US run opening for the Tragically Hip, the Constantines get a night on the headline at the Buffalo Icon this Monday, April 30, with support from the Exit Strategy and Vox Humana.