Ten years ago, three apple-cheeked brothers "MMMBop"-ed their way onto the pop charts.

Now, Isaac (guitar), Taylor (keyboards and vocals) and Zac (drums) Hanson are 20-something and married, the first two with children.

But obviously, it isn't just their personalities that have matured.

Even though the Tulsa, Okla.-based trio sprouted during the boy-band boom of the late '90s, Hanson was, for the most part, always considered a more muscular musical entity.

The fact that the brothers played their own instruments, wrote their own songs and never offered a coordinated dance step demanded that they were viewed with a certain credibility.

Plus, they were prone to breaking into covers of the Spencer Davis Group and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in concert.

Top that, Nick Carter.

A few years ago, recognizing the changes at mainstream record labels, Hanson went indie. The group released 2004's "Underneath" and July's "The Walk" on its own 3CG label.

While neither has matched the sales success of 1997's "Middle of Nowhere" debut (4 million sold) or even 2000's "This Time Around," the group's last gold album (500,000 sold), both releases topped Billboard's Independent Album Chart.

Speaking recently from his home in Tulsa, Isaac -- the eldest Hanson, who turns 27 next month -- chatted brightly about the band's soulful current release. But he became most animated when discussing the brothers' recent journey to Mozambique, which inspired the song "Great Divide."

Q. You guys are always evolving which a lot of people might not realize so what was different this time around? The album has a very organic feel.

A. The old-school approach stemmed from a couple of things. As a band, we come from songwriting first. The three of us, it's never been about "I'm gonna be Jimi Hendrix." It's "I'm gonna be Billy Joel and write the really good songs."

I don't have to reinvent an instrument. I just have to write a song that people want to sing back to me.

This record was a conscious decision to say, you know what, people have to know what this band sounds like . . . so we played it live [in the studio] as much as possible. We made sure we weren't overdubbing much. This record is deliberately bare-bones.

Q. Do you still feel as if you haven't shaken the "MMMBop" stigma and have to prove yourselves as musicians?

A. We've always done things the way we've wanted to do them. I think people will hear the band in a way they haven't before. As artists, we have never compromised. We have always done things that we were wholly excited about. I would say this record is the complete Hanson.

Q. Is Tulsa still home base?

A. Yes, it always has been. We've lived in New York and L.A., but we've always had homes in Tulsa and always returned there. It's like a retreat from the craziness, the place where you remember to be normal. The narcissism is a little less prevalent, too.

Q. Did you record the album there?

A. This is the first time we did a record here from start to finish. We weren't used to that. We were used to doing part of it in Tulsa and then going to New York or L.A., so this was a new process for us. It was a good thing, as it turned out.

Q. When did you go to Africa? Had you already written "Great Divide"?

A. The structure for the song had been there, but we went over not planning to record songs. We were going to see what was going on with some friends who developed some mobile Internet technology to facilitate doctor-patient communication.

These [friends] are from Tulsa, and we wanted to go with them. By supporting them, we thought, wow, maybe we can find a way to sum up this trip in music. So we wound up recording three songs while we were there.

"Great Divide" talks about finding hope in the most dire situations. When we were there, I saw hope in everyone's eyes. [The people there are] incredibly optimistic and receptive.

Q. Tell me about the live show. Will this be a fairly stripped-down tour?

A. People can expect songs off "The Walk" and anything in between; some random covers, which we've always done. Even in 1998, when we were touring and had fans who weren't even teenagers yet, we were out there playing [Spencer Davis Group's] "Gimme Some Lovin'."

We always felt like it was our duty as a band to make our shows as musical as possible and as untheatrical as possible. Just make it as much about the songs as we can. mruggieri@timesdispatch.com.
 
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