After achieving platinum status, numerous radio hits across multi formats and three successful records, you'd think you'd have a band figured out. But in this case, you'd be wrong. Seven Mary Three's surprising fourth release, The Economy of Sound (released June 5), tosses preconceptions out the window. Sure, the passionate voice and apt lyrics are very much those of Jason Ross, who first impacted with 7M3's #1 hit "Cumbersome." But that was 1995 and this is very much 2001. On The Economy of Sound, from the musical and verbal kick-the-doors-down assault of "Sleepwalking" to the incendiary edge of "Breakdown" to the mellower but no less dynamic and memorable first single "Wait," there's a palpable excitement and energy. Much of that clearly discernible intensity is because of change--and a lot of it--in every area of Seven Mary Three's recent collective life.

First, there's a new member: Boston native Thomas Guilano replaced founding guitarist Jason Pollock. Then, with The Economy of Sound, Seven Mary Three rejoins their original label, Mammoth. And, finally, the band broke from the tour/album cycle of the last five years, and spent two years honing The Economy of Sound. "There have been changes during this record that rejuvenated the band's focus," affirms Ross. "When we first started the band, we didn't name what genre of music we were going to do, the media did. We just made music we liked, and people said of American Standard and 'Cumbersome,' 'oh, that's grunge.' That term was an afterthought to us! As the years have gone on, each record, from American Standard to Rock Crown (1997) to Orange Avenue (1998) has reached out and grasped new territory. And this one is certainly the largest jump in terms of our songcraft. The motivation behind the record was to have that four-piece, three-chords and the truth vibe. In our minds, everything had gotten boiled down to the beginning---except we had eight years of experience, hits like 'Water's Edge,' 'Lucky' and 'Over Your Shoulder' and a fan base!"

Recording with longtime producer Tom Morris in Tampa, Florida, near the band's Orlando home, studio work for The Economy of Sound began in April 1999, followed by another two weeks of tracking in 2000, and a final fortnight of writing/recording in early 2001. "When we began this record and parted ways with Jason, we started recording as a three piece," recalls Ross. "But we needed a great lead guitar sound, as we're guitar driven, and the person to play that wasn't me. We had a session player in mind for the record, but he was too busy, so he recommended Thomas. I feel like our stars were aligned. He flew down from Boston and brought some objectivity to the whole process. At first we recorded eight tracks with him as a session player, then in early 2000 we did a quick tour with him, and when we returned, he was clearly the guy to join. Then we wrote more new songs, so he was there for the whole creative process."

Despite the stress of having to part ways with Pollock, Ross was as prolific as ever. "The hardest part for me was stripping the songs down," explains Ross. "I'm always writing. I always have 20 odd tunes on tape somewhere, then 12 or 14 of them rise to the top. During this process, a lot of the songs on this record were ones I wrote that I had no intention of bringing to the band, all written on acoustic guitar. 'Sleepwalking' was the last song we wrote, in early 2001." And while Ross often draws from personal experiences, there are no songs about Pollock's departure on the album. "I've thought a lot about that," Ross muses. "There's no more pivotal experience in my life that I haven't tried to come to some understanding about through music. That eventually will have to happen, but I haven't yet come to terms with it."

That said, other important moments and feelings are explored on The Economy of Sound, a title chosen because, Ross laughs, "it sounded cool!" "On this record there is somewhat of a youthful revival in the tone of 'Steal a Car' or 'First Time Believers,' and we're spreading our wings with 'Tug,' which is out of the 'compartment' that people usually associate us with," he explains.

Even more left of center, but equally thrilling, is "Breakdown," a heady gem with an anarchy vibe that recalls a bit of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter." "Absolutely," agrees Jason. "It's popular with the hip-hop crowd to give shout-outs to their peeps, and we do that musically. We're not borrowing, we're just fucking stealing!" he chuckles. "I think B.B. King once said that. All music is inspired, no matter how original. But it comes from individuals, and I'm a believer in that 'you think as you dream as you live, alone,' that as isolationist sentient beings music helps us communicate and maybe commune with our psyche a little."

While fans are inspired by Jason's lyrics, the singer, too, is inspired by the words of others, from such bands as Guided by Voices and the Red House Painters to beat poets such as Allen Ginsberg, whose epic poem "Howl" made its presence felt on The Economy of Sound. "It's easy for me to write 'dark'; that's my natural tendency. And on this record, I made an effort to make the dark not 'poor me' songs, to make them a bit more clever than that. 'Breakdown' is a result of my reading 'Howl' and that kind of free-association, stream-of-consciousness that somehow makes sense. And on 'Sleepwalking' and 'Breakdown' I had a lot of fun lyrically." "Wait," the albums first single, was written, says Ross, to "boil down or reduce a situation to a place where I can extract some meaning from it. It's one of those mantra situations, telling myself to be comfortable with your own past, whether or not people interpret it that way. I love the verses also... They're more mind- than heart-influenced."

Yet the "heart" issues are also on The The Economy of Sound, notably in the relationship themes found within "Man in Control?" and "Tug." While Ross wryly observes that "everybody writes about love, and really, what better topic?" he takes a different tack. "I would rather write about the nuts and bolts of it than the arena-rock side of it." Indeed, Seven Mary Three are in the unusual place of being a commercial band with indie sensibilities, which makes their return to Mammoth all the better. "There's only a handful of employees at Mammoth, and that's how it was when we were first there with American Standard, before we switched to Atlantic, Mammoth's old parent company. I think Mammoth functions like our band, they look at the big picture, which is developing a career."

And "career" is the key word as 7M3 embark on a new phase of their already well-established vocation. They've answered all the questions about their name (From '70s cop show C.H.I.P.'s.). About their indie album (1994's Churn). About "Cumbersome" (A huge hit that pushed American Standard platinum-plus, but Seven Mary Three is not just one song). And 7M3 are ready for a new chapter--they're asking questions, musically, lyrically, spiritually, and the answers are manifold. "I had to take a hard look at our career with this record," admits Ross. "We're a young enough band where we could go do other things with our lives. I think that was the thing in bridging Orange Avenue's slightly more lackluster approach and getting to a place where we were excited to play in the band again. We're starting over, already having done it once, so it was more excitement than pressure with The Economy of Sound, and it shows in the vibrancy of our songs and live playing now. I want to keep the hard-line, Americana rock & roll vibe alive in our music. Ultimately," concludes Ross, "I'm a musician. A songwriter. That's what I do. I may or may not make a lot of money at it for the rest of my life," he laughs, "but that's what I'm going to do!"