For a band that formed in the mid-1990s, the cycle of writing, recording and touring runs the risk of getting stale. Not so for The Features. These Tennessee rockers managed to take the fun up another notch on their follow-up to 2011’s Wilderness by recalibrating the process. The group’s self-titled fourth album, released in May, was actually recorded before their previous full-length was even released.

“We wanted to get in the studio before Wilderness came out and before we got into touring for it,” singer and guitarist Matthew Pelham says. “It was way more spontaneous and we didn’t spend a lot of time working on it.”

Pelham, along with bassist Roger Dabbs, keyboardist Mark Bond and drummer Rollum Haas, spent a month recording at Ripcord Studio in Vancouver, Wash., 2,500 miles away from Sparta, Tenn., where they established themselves as a band with a high-energy live show and a mix of eclectic influences ranging from psychedelic rock and krautrock to New Wave and synth pop.

“We probably spent about a week and a half roughing the songs together and then, we recorded without them being fully rehearsed, without the ideas being fully thought through,” Pelham says. “I think we’ll continue to do that because it’s a lot more fun.”

While the process may have changed, The Features still produce songs full of catchy guitar riffs, punchy rhythms, hook-driven pop melodies and Pelham’s distinctive vocals. “Lately, I’ve heard I sound like Phil Collins. I accept that as a compliment,” he says. “I’m pretty happy with that actually.”

Pelham is also known for his intelligent and witty lyrics, which he spent less time crafting for the latest record. “The songs that come out of nowhere and are extremely easy to write, those end up being my favorites,” he says. Most of the lyrics for the songs on The Features were completed early each morning prior to the band recording them.

“It was nice to not be so precious about everything,” he says. “I second-guess things a lot, and it stifles some creativity. We should just roll with it more often.”