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"We love to eat," Enon front man and founder John Schmersal said, lounging in the back seat of his van in the middle of a 10-hour drive to Atlanta. "That's how we spend the majority of our free time on tour. This time we're all in love with crustaceans, so it was very important that we hit up a good crab shack while we were in Baltimore."
Schmersal and the rest of Enon are seasoned road warriors who know this country like the backs of their hands. The tastes the members crave might change as often as the band's time signatures or broad musical style, but because Enon are crisscrossing the country the majority of the year, finding a town that specializes in what their taste buds desire is never more than a few hours away.
"This is our third tour since the new album came out last year," Schmersal said. "With the exception of the three weeks we were home in March, we've pretty much been on the road since October."
With a European tour sandwiched in somewhere along the way, it's no wonder that Enon have been busy (and hungry) as of late. After a long drought between albums -- more than four years -- the band finally released its fifth album, Grass Geysers...Carbon Clouds, via the indie rock forefather, Touch and Go Records.
The album is arguably the band's catchiest to date, and although Enon largely stick to what they know best, the band isn't afraid to hide a little bit of musical experimentation behind the catchy pop hooks and big choruses that dominate the album.
Schmersal assured that the long break between albums was nothing abnormal, and it's just the way things happen to go from time to time.
"It's not like we just stopped playing," he said. "We put out a compilation record and toured on that, but two of us moved to Philadelphia and another one to New York, so it was just hard to get together as often as we would have liked. A lot of times people just expect bands to put out a new record every year or so, and it's tough to try and accommodate that kind of timetable."
When everything lined up and Enon were finally able to sit down and record, things were already ahead of schedule. The down time gave each member enough time to prepare, and things started clicking instantly.
"Usually we try and let songs just come together while we're in the studio," Schmersal said. "But because of the nature of this record and the songs being more of a stripped-down, rock 'n' roll sound, we wanted a lot of it to be planned out beforehand."
The "stripped-down" sound that Schmersal refers to is a bit different from what long-time Enon fans might be used to. Although the group obviously still loves to experiment with synthesizers, looping samples and other instruments, Grass Geysers is probably the most casual-fan- and radio-friendly album of Enon's nine-year career.
Schmersal and his two band-mates (bassist Toko Yasuda and drummer Matt Schulz) have found a way to streamline all of their varying musical repertoires into a single album that pushes its sound into a realm that Enon haven't spent much time exploring.
Although Schmersal said he's thrilled that people seem to be digging the new album and slightly different sound, he's happier that he was able to spend a few years taking it easy, writing songs and, well, just living his life.
"It's important to not rush things and put out something you're happy with," Schmersal said. "But beyond that, sometimes it's more important to do the little things in your regular life that make you happy."
Although Enon had a long time to regroup and catch up on all the little things, the band was eager and ready to pick up and start again as soon as it had a chance.
"It was nice to not be on tour for a while," Schmersal said. "But then as soon as you hit the road, it all comes back really easily, and you remember how much you like the simplicity of life on the road."
Although Enon are just getting back into the swing of things after their three-week spring break, the road called them back in a big way. The band will be on tour almost nonstop for the next three months, including another jaunt across Europe, and Schmersal couldn't sound happier.
"I'm glad we got back out," he said. "I was going crazy sitting around the last few days we were off. Now it's actually kind of nice not to be checking my computer every five minutes. I have to find other things to keep myself busy."
And that's where all those crab shacks come in handy.
Enon will play at the Urban Lounge in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.
t.hale@chronicle.utah.edu
