Opening Doors

Semisonic’s melancholy single “Closing Time,” a ubiquitous presence on MTV and modern rock radio during the summer, is that rarity, a song that became a hit because of its sneaky ambiguity.

Fans of the song have gleaned countless meanings from Dan Wilson’s “wee small hours in a local bar” scenario, but few have actually figured out what the Minneapolis trio is really getting at.

“I like my lyrics to have many meanings and unfinished threads,” says Wilson, Semisonic’s singer, guitarist and chief songwriter. “I’ve had all sorts of responses to ‘Closing Time.’ This deejay in Australia told me that anybody who writes a song about women and beer is all right with him!”

In fact, such lyrics as “Closing time / Open all the doors and let you out into the world” are part of an extended metaphor about childbirth that Wilson dreamed up when his daughter Coco, now 1 1/2, was born.

“It’s all about being born from the womb, seeing the bright lights, cutting the cord. . . . Just opening up into something deeper and more universal.”

Whatever the listener might take from it, “Closing Time” has finally enabled Semisonic to graduate to the big time after years of toughing it out on the Midwestern club circuit. (After a recent tour opening for Matchbox 20 and Soul Asylum, the trio is on a headlining trek that includes a show at the Palace on Friday.)

As part of the process, the band is facing a classic conundrum: How do you enlarge your fan base while not alienating your fervent loyalists?

“I remember getting this e-mail from a Minneapolis fan of ours who was basically saying it’s over,” says Wilson, who is in his mid-30s. “He wrote about how he’ll no longer be able to see us in the local club with 200 people, and he didn’t begrudge us for it, but it made him sad. Success is a funny trade-off in that way.”

Press Wilson long enough, however, and he’ll concede that the trade-off has been well worth it. Three years ago, Semisonic released “The Great Divide,” a debut album of quiet, meticulously crafted pop that made many critics’ year-end Top 10 lists. It didn’t sell squat.

So last year the band members went back into the studio with their amps juiced up and more radio-friendly hooks at the ready. And they find their second album, “Feeling Strangely Fine” (on MCA Records), approaching the 700,000 mark in sales. So what gives? Did Wilson, bassist John Munson and drummer Jacob Slichter consciously decide to make a more accessible album in order to cast a wider net?

“In fact, what we’ve actually done with this record is strip things down,” Wilson says. “Last time, ideas would come at you every second, but with this album, the toughness is offset by quieter moments where nothing much happens.”

“Closing Time” has put Semisonic on the pop-culture radar, and Wilson is hoping it’s not a temporary blip. Having experienced a near-miss with his previous band, Trip Shakespeare (which also featured Munson), Wilson is looking to go the distance with Semisonic by avoiding the stigma that comes with having a sole breakout hit.

“Rock is in a funny place right now,” he says. “People are being trained to expect mediocrity. I got this e-mail from someone saying how much they loved ‘Closing Time,’ bought the album thinking she would just like the one song, and discovered there were 11 more songs she liked.

“The industry is so geared toward hits now that people think the album’s gonna suck. I think our touring is helping us in that respect, ‘cause people can hear the songs.”

BE THERE

Semisonic, Friday at the Palace, 1735 N. Vine St., 7:30 p.m. $15. (213) 462-3000.