Neon Trees Making It ‘Raw, Energetic, Intimate’

Neon Trees' latest album, "Pop Psychology," couldn't be more perfectly titled, with 10 tracks, written by singer Tyler Glenn and writing partner Tim Pagnotta, that peddle new-millennium angst in shiny, alt-pop boxes.

This spring, the Provo, Utah-based quartet released "Songs I Can't Listen To," a new single, and took off on a tour of intimate venues — an opportunity, drummer Elaine Bradley said, to get to know exactly what the typical Neon Trees fan (spoiler: there isn't one) looks like.

Neon Trees plays College Street Music Hall in New Haven on Saturday, July 25, with Fictionist and New Haven singer-songwriter Ian Biggs opening. Tickets are $15-$40.

CTNow: Neon Trees is playing smaller, more intimate venues on this tour. What's the inspiration behind that?

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EB: Yeah! We had in mind what we wanted to happen, but we didn't know what to expect in real life. The shows have been really great. There's such a diversity to the type of people who show up to Neon Trees shows. It's quite the enigma. You look out and think, "Wow, these people wouldn't hang out in any other setting." It's really cool to think that everybody is there for the music.

CTNow: What do you see when you look out at the crowds?

EB: It's interesting. We'll spend a lot of time talking about who we find out there: "Did you see the group of people to the left?" You see young teens, because we try to do most of these shows as all-ages, because that matters to us a lot. We were all teens once and we liked to go to shows. It's young kids, 20-somethings, 30-somethings, 40-somethings. You even get the 50-60 crowd at every show, and within those age brackets you get so many different types of people coming out too. It's really fun. We don't quite know what kinds of people we attract, but there they are.

CTNow: This sort of tour is a good way to figure out who your audience is, right? You're seeing them up close, sharing the same space, and so on.

EB: Right, and we're not supporting a new album, so you don't see people who only know hooks and singles. You see the diehard fans who've been with us since the beginning or who have followed us all the way back. There are so many of them who know the words to every song. It's really interesting. I wonder what all of their stories are.

CTNow: Speaking of albums, are you reaching the point where you're thinking of beginning work on a full-length follow-up to "Pop Psychology?"

EB: People think we should be getting close to that point. But we're at a point in our careers where we realize we can do what we want to do. I'm not sure that we know what we want to do yet, so we don't want to rush into the studio until the timing's right, when we have all of our ducks in a row. We're taking this year to do what we want to do. We released a single ["Songs I Can't Listen To"] because we love that song and wanted to record it and wanted people to hear it, so we did. We wanted to tour, so we did. We're actually not thinking much about plans for the future. We're taking this year, and then we'll see what happens next year. I don't know that any of us is in a rush or in any sort of mind-set to make a plan right now. I think we'll just see what happens. Your guess is as good as mine.

CTNow: Tyler does most of the songwriting. How does he introduce new ideas to the band? Does he come in with everything mostly fleshed out, or is there some breathing room when you first hear it?

EB: It depends on the song. Sometimes they are just demos that we've really enjoyed, so then we add our flair to them. With "Songs I Can't Listen To," he came with an idea on an acoustic guitar. Then we had to talk about the direction we wanted to take it in and how we wanted to treat it, because we loved the lyrics and melody. The most important things to us as a band are lyrics and melody, and he's great at those. So then our job is to decide how we support the lyrics and melody, how to elevate them with the things we do. That's always been our role as musicians.

CTNow: The four of you have been playing together for quite some time. Is it comfortable to play in a band like that, where you know the ins and outs of each other's styles?

EB: I think it is. We're always trying to not fall into some kind of a rut, where we just do what's expected. We're all trying to push each other's boundaries. We're definitely not resting on our laurels, and we don't want to fall into old patterns. I think it's a good thing to be able to challenge each other and to know what we want Neon Trees to sound like. That doesn't mean that it always stays the same, but that there's a natural evolution that we're all on board with.

CTNow: You are expecting a child in a couple of months. Is it difficult to play the drums?

EB: It's uncomfortable, I'll tell you that. Specifically, it makes everything I do that much more awkward and uncomfortable, but it's not impossible. It's still fun. I love playing shows, and I wouldn't have it any other way. It doesn't make family life any more convenient, but it's fine.

NEON TREES performs at College Street Music Hall in New Haven on Saturday, July 25, at 8:30 p.m., with Fictionist and Ian Biggs opening. Tickets are $15-$40. Information: collegestreetmusichall.com.

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