When you talk of Hanson, the first thing you think of is the song MmmBop. Released about seven years ago, the song became a sudden craze on the international pop circuit.

The band of brothers is back in the limelight. A couple of months ago, Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson released their third studio album Underneath.

The record debuted at No 25 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart, but what was interesting was that it was released on their own self-funded label 3CG Records.

Why did they decide to produce the album themselves, thus leaving their label Island Def Jam? In a telephone interview coordinated by Sony Music, Taylor says: “There’s definitely a point in one’s career where one wants to produce one’s own sound. When you work with a larger record label, a lot of other factors come in. But by producing the album on our own, we could do things the way we wanted.”

Hanson had earlier released the albums Middle Of Nowhere and This Time Around. According to Taylor, the latest album is a natural evolution over the earlier two. “When we did our first album, we were much younger. But our tastes have matured and our influences have become more varied. All this is reflected on the new album,” he says.

One of the highlights of Underneath is the song Penny & Me. Taylor says: “That song says a lot of different things. It’s about people and relationships. And we designed it with the radio in mind.”

The conversation naturally meanders towards the success of MmmBop. According to Taylor, none of the Hansons worked on the song with success in mind. “We believe in what we do. But no-one can claim in the beginning that they’ve written a hit. The song clicked. It actually stands as one of the big songs of the past 10 years,” he elaborates.

According to Taylor, the band’s biggest advantage is that age of the members. “When we started off, we were very young. But as we grew older, we learnt to express ourselves better. There were new things we wanted to talk about in our songs,” he says.

What kind of music does Hanson listen to? Taylor says all members have diverse tastes, with a special fondness for classic rock, alternative rock and early rhythm ‘n blues. “As for my own tastes, I like bands like the Corrs, the Jayhawks, Muse and Vast,” he says.

As far as their personal equation is concerned, Taylor says the three of them share a mutual respect. “We’re all inspired by each other, and have a very friendly relationship,” he says. It clearly shows in the music.