Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson, the talented brothers from Tulsa who hit the pop world with hurricane force in 1996 with the breakout hit "MMMBop," are back.

Now releasing albums on their own indy label – 3CG Records — the brothers’ music has matured into a distinctive rock/pop sound with a hint of emo – think Fall Out Boy. But the trio hasn’t left their pop/adolescent roots behind. Fans who’ve grown up with the band will still hear some of those old favorites – plus a broad selection of other songs.

Here’s what singer/guitarist Isaac Hanson said about the group and their ongoing musical evolution:

I understand that you’ve worked to leave your pop roots behind.

I think that is people’s perception of it as a whole. What I feel like we were doing is trying to bring together our music over the last 10 years. The last album (Underneath, released in 2004) was our first indy release. With this record (The Walk, released July 24, 2007), we are trying to establish the reality of what this band truly is and sounds like. I don’t want people to say, `Oh, that’s Isaac Hanson and that’s how he sings.’ I want them to hear the band.

How has your songwriting changed as you’ve grown older?

In the past we have approached records from the point of songwriters. When you write songs at a young age, the song is ingrained in your head. The band molded itself around each individual song. We’d say, `This song is funk. Let’s go funk.' We always moved ourselves into the songs instead of vice versa. Now we’re trying to put forth the sound of this band.

Was that difficult to do when you were signed to Island Def Jam?

I think we could have done some of it. But the understanding of the artistic essence of this band — on some level, not on all levels — was lost. That is a problem so many bands deal with. Rooney had to make their second album (Calling the World, released July 17, 2007) over [many times before it was released]. That is happening all over the business, and it’s happening to unknown bands. We have no idea because the people getting out records have no idea. So that music is lost.

How did you approach your latest album, The Walk, to ensure the band’s distinctive sound could be heard?

We wanted to combine sounds from the last three records to show our musical tendencies…We said live combines everything. So we focused on doing this record as live as possible. We took the songs from the point of view of what we would do as a live band. We limited overdubs to five parts. Less is more. It really is.