The word "upbeat" isn't exactly synonymous with the Cowboy Junkies.

And that's why the Canadian band's seventh album, Miles From Our

Home, will undoubtedly surprise fans.

Departing from their strictly bluesy, country-influenced sound, the Cowboy

Junkies bring rocking pop -- with an extra layer of polish -- to their new, 10-track

album on Geffen, scheduled for a June 30 release.

"It's definitely more polished than their older albums," said Paul Brill, 30, a folk-

rock singer and longtime fan of the Junkies who had a chance to hear the

album. "You can hear the production work. And it has more heavy bass and

drums. I didn't even recognize the band when I heard the first song ['New Dawn

Coming']."

Behind the Cowboy Junkies' move from their usual slow-and-easy pace to

higher-tempo modern rock is veteran producer John Leckie, who spent six

months this winter working with the Junkies in rural Warkworth, Ontario, at

Maiden's Mill studio.

A former producer at London's acclaimed Abbey Road studios, Leckie has

worked with late Beatles leader John Lennon; Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono; and

former Beatle George Harrison and has applied his production and mixing skills

to such contemporary rock acts as The Verve, Radiohead, Kula Shaker and

Spiritualized.

Having Leckie in the studio for their latest album opened up the

band creatively, said the Junkies' lead vocalist, 37-year-old Margo Timmins,

speaking from her home in Toronto.

She added that working with Leckie was a particular help for her brother,

songwriter/guitarist Michael Timmins. With Leckie taking the production reins,

Michael was able to focus more on playing and experimenting with guitars.

The Cowboy Junkies, comprising Margo, brothers Michael and Peter Timmins

(drums) and Alan Anton (bass), have a long history of relying solely on

themselves to produce their quietly hushed albums. [On 1996's Lay It

Down, which featured the top-20 modern-rock hit "Common Disaster," they

brought in John Keane (R.E.M., Vic Chesnutt) to co-produce with Michael, an

experience that proved positive.]

"The Junkies have been together 12 years," Margo said. "So we pretty much

know what we like by now. When someone comes and tries to tell us what to do,

we can get pretty aggressive."

With Leckie, however, the chemistry was right. "John's really ego-less for a man

who's done so much," she added. "When we first met him, we saw he had the

enthusiasm of a true music fan ... and he really likes guitars, which is pretty

evident on the [new] album."

Formed in 1985, the Cowboy Junkies first hit the airwaves with their second

album, 1988's platinum Trinity Sessions, produced for a mere $250 and

recorded in a Toronto church using only a single microphone. Their eerily

melodic cover of Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" became a hit on college

radio and was used in Oliver Stone's 1994 psychofest "Natural Born Killers."

Subsequent albums -- 1990's The Caution Horses, 1992's Black-

Eyed Man, 1993's Pale Sun, Crescent Moon and 1996's Lay It

Down, which went gold -- followed.

The Junkies also have appeared on numerous compilations, including

1991's Deadicated, an album featuring covers of Grateful Dead songs,

to which the Cowboy Junkies contributed their rendition of "To Lay Me Down."

They recently lent their talents to an upcoming tribute album to the late country-

rock musician Gram Parsons, contributing their version of Parson's "Ooh Las

Vegas."

Songs on Miles From Our Home, which Margo describes as a love

album, include the upbeat and bass-heavy "New Dawn Coming," the lushly

layered "Hollow as a Bone" and the toe-tapping

HREF="http://www.addict.com/music/Cowboy_Junkies/Miles_From_Our_Home.

ram">title track (RealAudio excerpt), which will be the first radio single.

More typically sedate songs include "Those Final Feet," written by Michael

about the death of his 94-year-old grandfather; the slow "Good Friday"; and

HREF="http://www.addict.com/music/Cowboy_Junkies/Blue_Guitar.ram">"Blue

Guitar" (RealAudio excerpt), a requiem of sorts dedicated to the late

Texas folk songwriter Townes Van Zandt, with whom the Junkies had toured.

Another song, "The Summer of Discontent," was written by Michael

after his and his wife's frustrating attempt to adopt a child.

"It's about things not going the way you planned them," Margo said. "And

especially the disappointment of summer. Summer is so short, and you build up

these expectations for all these good things to happen in a few months. It

doesn't always work that way."

An extensive, six-month tour is planned for late August and the fall,

including dates with opening band Over the Rhine, a Cincinnati-based folk

band in a similar vein as the Cowboy Junkies. Tour dates are not yet

available.

Three Cowboy Junkies shows at Lilith Fair have been confirmed, however.

They'll play Denver (Aug. 23), Salt Lake City (Aug. 25) and Calgary, Alberta,

(Aug. 28) as part of the tour's rotating lineup.

Margo said that she is personally excited to be participating in the female-

fronted festival, especially after a decade spent touring on buses with "the

boys," as Margo affectionately calls her bandmates.

"It'll be nice to be in an all-female environment," she said. "From what

I've heard about the festival, everyone just puts their egos aside and

concentrates on playing and having a good time."

Currently, providing fans with a good time seems the number-one priority for

the Junkies, who may not top the charts with their albums

but have enjoyed career longevity and a loyal fanbase.

"Sure, it would be great to sell a lot of records," Margo said. "But when

we first formed the band, our goal was longevity -- not to just fade out. I

feel sorry for those flash-in-the-pan bands. I don't know what it does to

their heads. We'll just play until we're finished."