On the to-do list for aspiring musicians, forming a band usually comes before booking a show. But The Lovely Feathers are living proof that sometimes the opposite works just as well.

The Canadian group formed in 2004 when the future bandmates were all attending McGill University in Montreal. The now-lead vocalist and guitarist Mark Kupfert signed up to play at McGill’s OAP Festival, only to realize he had no band. So he called up friends Ted Suss, Mark Shortt and David Buzaglo two days before the event and asked them to join him.

“It must have been the worst show that was ever played, but we had fun,” said Suss, the band’s drummer. “Some people in the audience must have had fun, and we were asked to play at a battle of the bands.”

They practiced more for their second appearance, and, surprisingly, the impromptu band stuck together.

“We formed casually, as many bands do,” said Shortt, who plays bass and guitar. “And then we decided to have a go at it, and it seemed to work out.”

The Lovely Feathers released its debut album, “Hind Hind Legs” and went on tour in 2006, but after that it remained fairly inactive for the next two years.

Now the band is launching another tour in support of their second album, “Fantasy of the Lot.”

“It took a while, but it’s nice because that album’s a reflection of where we all were in our lives,” Suss said. “Sort of searching or rebuilding relationships. So not really the happiest time. But the album we were working on is very reflective of that. Some of the themes of regret, shame. And there’s some happy songs, too – it’s not all bad.”

The new album, he says, is more mature and focused than the band’s first release, but still energetic and exciting. The album’s name is open to different interpretations, even among the band members.

“It’s supposed to represent our collective fantasies as a society, and how we’re forced to abandon them,” Suss said.

The Lovely Feathers’ music is often described as indie rock or eccentric pop.

“I like that one,” Suss said of the term “eccentric pop,” “because we have the hooks and melodies of a pop song, but it’s a little more strange than what you hear on mainstream radio. I like to think more interesting, too.”

Regardless of the genre that best describes it, the band’s music has diverse influences.

“We all listen to all sorts of music, so we draw [from] a lot of different bands, eras, styles,” Suss said. “But when we make our own music, it’s however we’re feeling that day or that week or that month. when [Kupfert] writes songs, he pulls them straight out of his unconscious.”

Athens will be the first stop on The Lovely Feathers’ East Coast tour.

“We’ve never played [in] Athens before, so we’re really excited to play that show,” Suss said. In general, he said, “We put on an exciting show. We give off a lot of energy and we all rock out. It’s a little theatric, but not overdone . It’s a very lively show and good to dance to, if people are so inclined.”

And some people find other ways to enjoy the music, said Shortt, who said audiences could “expect to feel dastardly, sublime and a combination of emotions” at the show.

“I saw someone writing at one of our shows,” he said. “Not about us. Just a short story or something.”