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\n\tAfter more than two decades, Eli Young Band<\/a> is finally having a full-circle moment.<\/p>\n \n\tThe four-piece released Strange Hours<\/em>, its seventh studio album, on Aug. 1 and the project marks the group\u2019s return to independent music for the first time since their 2005 debut, Level<\/em>. It made sense, then, that EYB found their way back to Panhandle House studio in Denton, Texas, where the group was founded, to lay down Strange Hours<\/em> and reconnect with its independent roots.<\/p>\n \n\tPart of a wave of artists to make the leap from the Texas music circuit into the mainstream country lexicon in the early 20<\/a>1<\/a>0s<\/a> \u2014\u00a0and arguably the most successful \u2014\u00a0EYB\u2019s major-label run, first with Universal South and later Republic and Big Machine\u2019s Valory Machine Co., brought about four Number One singles and a platinum album (2011\u2019s Life at Best<\/em>). The group credits the wake of its 2022 record, Love Talking<\/em>, as laying the groundwork for their return to independent status. The 13-track Strange Hours<\/em>, entirely written or co-written by EYB members, resulted from a prolific songwriting period that ensued.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe were writing a bunch of songs,\u201d Mike Eli, guitarist and frontman for EYB, tells Rolling Stone. \u201cWe obviously had time off during 2020 and 2021, and it was a huge creative time for us. We had made a record then called Love Talking<\/em>, but we kept writing and kept the momentum going. After Love Talking<\/em>, we made the decision that we were going to move on. Nothing against Big Machine \u2014\u00a0they worked really hard for us for a really long time, but we decided that it was time for us to go independent again.<\/p>\n \n\tThe four-piece, with a lineup \u2014 Eli, James Young, Jon Jones, and Chris Thompson \u2014\u00a0that has not changed since its founding, sees Strange Hours<\/em> as a slice-of-life record that emphasizes the raw, rock-edged sound and straightforward lyrics that first helped the group gain appeal among Lone Star State college audiences. This time around, though, the members have an appreciation for the freedom an unattached group is afforded.<\/p>\n