After they release an album, the Neon Trees book a date at the Newport Music Hall. It’s almost a
habit.

The new-wave pop band stopped at the venue after
Habits made its debut in 2010, then again in 2012 after
Picture Show was released. The band will return at the end of the month to promote
Pop Psychology, released in April. It is the Trees’ third, and perhaps most personal,
album to date.

“We’re very fond of Columbus,” said bass player Branden Campbell by phone from Reno, Nev.,
before a performance.

The Utah band has had great shows at the Newport, said Campbell, who also lamented the 2010
death of John Andrew “Andyman” Davis, an area disc jockey. Davis was a big supporter of the band,
Campbell said.

The show on Monday is part of the band’s first tour as the headline act.

“This is the biggest tour we’ve done,” the 39-year-old said.

The band, which first made waves with the singles
Animals (2010) and
Everybody Talks (2012), has opened for the Killers and toured with acts such as Maroon 5,
the Offspring and Thirty Seconds to Mars.

The tour and album are on the cusp of frontman Tyler Glenn’s coming out in a March
Rolling Stone article.

Much of the album’s subject matter details his coming to terms with his sexuality. The first
single from the album,
Sleeping With a Friend, is about Glenn pining for a straight man who once was close to the
band.

The track peaked at No. 7 on
Billboard’s Adult Pop Top 40 and No. 8 on the Hot Rock Songs charts.

Other songs on the album, co-written by Glenn and longtime collaborator Tim Pagnotta of
Sugarcult, address the struggles of relationships in a world consumed by technology.
Text Me in the Morning, the latest single, depicts the pitfalls of communicating by text
message.

The personal nature of the album and its message of being comfortable with oneself, Campbell
said, have resonated with fans.

“To hear people say, ‘You’ve gotten me through my toughest times’ — I hope that it continues to
do that,” Campbell said.

Fans, Campbell said, have embraced both the album and Glenn.

“The rest of us are just happy for him that he feels he’s in a great place.”

Campbell joined Neon Trees in 2006. The band was formed in 2005 by Glenn and guitarist Chris
Allen. Drummer Elaine Bradley joined about the same time.

Bass players aren’t typically front and center of any band, especially one led by a singer as
theatrical as Glenn, but Campbell said he has enjoyed the role.

“There was always this mystique from bass players,” he said. “I love being the root of
everything but still being able to flourish a little bit without overdoing it.”

elagatta@dispatch.com

@EricLagatta