Rockers Everclear are wrapping up work on Songs From an American Movie, Vol. I/Learning How to Smile (July 11), the first of two albums they'll release this year, the band's publicist said.

Later this month, frontman Art Alexakis will direct the video for the album's first single, "Wonderful." Alexakis wrote the song, which is due to radio May 22, from the perspective of a child dealing with his parent's divorce.

Everclear, who will perform at several radio shows this summer, will begin work in June on Songs From an American Movie, Vol. II/A Good Time for a Bad Attitude. Alexakis said in a statement that the second CD will recall early Everclear, while the first LP has a more melodic, layered sound.

The albums "show two sides of the same coin," he said. "What we do is very poppy at times, and then there's a part of us that's very noisy."

The singer, who recently testified before a congressional committee to support a bill that would help enforce child support, will make his feature-film debut as a drug-addicted car thief in "Committed," starring Heather Graham and Casey Affleck. The movie opens Friday.

Everclear's most recent album was 1997's So Much for the Afterglow.