Once a rattling, shaking box of aggravated rock-based mayhem, the band has switched gears, retaining an edge but building and composing songs rather than deconstructing them. The result is "To Everybody" (Southern), a six-song, forty-minute dalliance with what one can loosely term twenty-first century prog rock. Not the seventies prog rock that featured twenty-minute tracks from the likes of Holger Czukay and Frank Zappa, but a progression of the nineties indie/punk rock sound. In fact, for a record that even fronts a prog-rock sensibility, its running time is relatively short. "That was very conscious," says 90 Day Men guitar player Brian Case, "because at the max it could have been forty-five minutes." Adds drummer/percussionist Cayce Key, "The material we had was very significant in terms of where we were when we recorded it. To add any more would have just been gratuitous."

Was the change in sound deliberate? "Obviously we wanted to evolve and mature," says Case. "But we didn't sit down and say, 'all right, this one's gonna be different.'" Key continues the thought: "It was a conscious difference, but basically we didn't premeditate it to make this record different for these reasons. We just knew that we wanted to try a lot of different stuff."

To that end, the quartet (which includes bass player Robert Lowe and keyboard player Andy Lansangan) traveled to Dallas, Texas, to work with producer John Congleton. Echoing a common sentiment among bands that leave their hometown to record, members say the situation was exactly what they needed to finish. "The budget worked out," says Case, "because John [Congleton] found us some great deals, and it gave us a chance to get out of town for ten days. No one had to go to work; no one had to meet someone later; no one had to go to the bar."

Though the 90 Day Men originally hail from St. Louis (except for Lowe, who's from Kansas City), over the last two years they have become an integral part of the Chicago musician scene. Whether you see them at Wicker Park bars, coffee shops or local record stores, the members of the band are everywhere. "We're definitely proud to be part of that," says Case. And has the band ever thought of relocating to, say, New York? "We've thought about it, but it's so nice here; there's an awesome community of musicians here, and we support each other. Besides," he adds, "touring-wise, it's prime, because you're right in the middle of the country."

A great example of the band's changing persona emerges on "I've Got Designs on You," a smart, sweeping rock track that comes with a candied hook, as well as artistic swagger and soundscaping. But it's such a far cry from 90 Day's jarring, face-punching style—can the band's older fans keep up? "I would like to think so," says Case. "But it's definitely not the same show where we're falling down and out of control."

Adds Lansangan, "I actually got clunked at a show once, when these two superfans came up to me on the stage and got so mad—like, what are doing and who do you think you are?—because we weren't playing any of our old songs. So maybe there will be people who come up and get mad, but, y'know, jeez."

Does the increased focus on the new material make for a flatline when the old stuff does come out? "The newer songs don't give you as many chances to go crazy, so when we do the older songs it's fun to not think about it so much, and just let loose," Case explains. Key continues: "There's a lot of improv in the older songs, so you can play to whatever mood you're in, or whatever mood the crowd's in."

Throughout the lyrics for "To Everybody" (printed in the record sleeve), the band peppers words with flagrantly unnecessary punctuation, intentional misspellings and song titles like "We Blame Chicago," which is actually an instrumental. Doesn't this linguistic noodling come with a pervasive fear of being labeled pretentious? "We're called pretentious already," responds Case. "People are gonna call you what they want, regardless of the way something is spelled or the way we say something."

Lansangan fires back, "I know these dudes, and the last thing I'd ever associate with them is pretension."

90 Day Men celebrate the release of "To Everybody" February 9 at the Empty Bottle, 1035 North Western, (773)276-3600. The band also plays an in-store performance February 8 at Reckless Records, 1532 North Milwaukee, (773)235-3727, at 7pm.

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