One might think that the title of Blue October's next album, Approaching Normal, would indicate that the band had turned to a more mainstream sound. The band's hit 'Hate Me' from their last album, Foiled, helped propel the band into the spotlight.  But after interviewing Blue October guitarist C.B. Hudson about the band upcoming release, it became clear that this album will sound anything but normal.

"I think this album is our best yet," Hudson told Alternative Addiction.  "With the ability to take our time, it allowed us to explore more and be more experimental."

Hudson said that the band spent over two months in pre-production for the album, just trying out different ideas and working on songs. Unlike albums that they've written in the past, Approaching Normal was more of a collaborative effort with all members of the band. "A lot of the time, Justin [Furstenfeld] keeps his work all to himself, but this time he brought it all to the table," explained Hudson.  "It was a lot more fun this time around. It was more like a team effort."

The team effort also allowed the band to try some unique ideas in the recording studio, giving some songs on the album a very distinct sound.  On the single 'Dirt Room', sounds from a malfunctioning guitar amp were used in portions of the song. "Ryan's amp was on the fritz, and it was making this really weird noise," said Hudson.  "[So] we recorded that and it's actually the sample that you are hearing right out of the first chorus on 'Dirt Room'."

Screwed up amps weren't the only thing that the band used as a pseudo-instrument on the new album. They used everything from little girls' voices to the actual firing of a gun."On a song called 'Should Be Loved' ... this is kinda crazy, but I actually brought in a 357 Magnum, then we went into an echo chamber and I shot the gun, miked up and recorded," explained Hudson.  "In the choruses, when you hear the snare, it's actually that 357."

The strange sounds of the album were produced by Steve Lillywhite, who Hudson says helped encourage the band to share their unique ideas. He explained that this is a quality that isn't found in many producers today."He was so great, just a pleasure to work with.  He took everyone's opinion to heart, which is so rare with producers."

Perhaps the biggest difference on this record is the lack of layering that the band used on guitar and vocal tracks. This was done purposely to give the album a much more basic sound. "On all the songs you are hearing one guitar. There was nothing that was taken twice," said Hudson.  "It's more stripped down and raw. We like it because when you layer it sometimes things get cluttered. But everything is really straightforward on this album."

Approaching Normal is set for release on March 24th. Leading up to that, the band will head over to Europe for a short string of dates. Afterwards, they will spend the month of February rehearsing before they head out on a full headlining tour in March.

Listen to Alternative Addiction’s Interview with Blue October