BARELY seven years ago, a trio of blonde-haired, instrument-wielding siblings exploded onto the music scene. Going by the name Hanson, these brothers from Tulsa, Oklahoma, simply took over pop radio’s airwaves with their monster hit MmmBop.

Though it’s hard to believe, the boys have all grown up. Sporting new looks and an even edgier sound, Hanson’s no longer the cutesy golden-haired boys of the 90s.

With all the hype they’ve been generating through the release of their new album, Underneath, pressure is definitely something these guys are facing.

But Zachary Walker Hanson, 18, or Zac as he is known, takes it all in his stride.

As the band’s drummer, stress is definitely something he has got used to and for this he has his brothers, Isaac, 24 (on guitar) and Taylor, 21 (keyboards), to thank.

"We help each other cope with the stress," said Zac during a phone interview with YouthQuake.

"Working long hours tires you out and sometimes you just feel like you don’t want to do it anymore. But then, you realise that it’s all about the music, and carry on. Besides, I love doing it!" he added with a chuckle.

Back in 2000, Hanson released their sophomore effort This Time Around. Although it sold more than a million copies, it wasn’t as successful as their first release, Middle Of Nowhere, which sold eight million copies.

But after a hiatus of about four years, the talented trio is back with their newest offering Underneath.

When questioned on the long wait for the new album, Zac confessed that they actually took their time to complete it.

"We had written about 80 songs before deciding to record 40 of them. It was quite a long process to select the tracks and in the end many of the songs (that we wanted to have on the album) didn’t make the final cut.

"Besides, the management changes that occurred also influenced the time factor," he said.

Underneath was released on Hanson’s self-funded label, 3CG Records.

"Starting our own label has been something we’ve wanted to do for a long time. We’ve always been very involved in the production aspect of our albums (they’ve produced independent albums before), so this was definitely nothing new to us.

"In the future, we hope to be able to help new artistes break into the market," Zac continued.

Zac credits Hanson’s long existence to the fact that they’ve always had the loyal support of their fans. "We couldn’t have come this far and done so much if there hadn’t been people out there who bought our records. We can’t thank our fans enough for having waited so patiently and supporting us continuously.

"We’re currently in the process of planning our tour dates. There are no promises, but we sincerely hope to be able to come to Malaysia at the end of the year," says Zac.