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For a while, it seemed like Hellogoodbye fell off the radar. 2006’s release Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! gave us gems like “Here (in your arms)” and “Oh It Is Love,” and the band seemed poised for more, and soon. It’s been about three years since we’ve gotten anything new from these guys, but luckily the wait is over. Stopping in Madison on their cross-country tour, lead singer Forrest Kline caught up with The Badger Herald about the tour, the new album Would It Kill You? and the changes that have happened for the band.

Three years is a long time in between albums, many bands wait only a year before getting new material out to their fans. Hellogoodbye has never been conventional, so it’s no surprise they’ve done things their own way. Their sets for this tour are about half new stuff and half old, and Kline describes the differences between the old and new.

“It’s been a little over three years, and I’ve lived a lot of life in that time,” he said. “The things I did on Zombies! wasn’t new material, they were older songs that I wrote when I was 18, so it’s really been a long time that freshly written songs have come out.”

The time has also allowed Kline to build a studio, another big reason he notes for the difference in the sound of Would It Kill You? and their 2006 release.

“I built myself a sweet little studio at my house and was able to make what I wanted to how I wanted to. It comes through in a lot of the songs,” he said. “Instead of being a little laptop song where you’re recording it as you’re writing it, or writing it as you record it, it’s now it’s like I write the song and then record it, like real people do.”

The changes don’t stop there. In the last three years Hellogoodbye has taken on a new lineup of band members, and Kline couldn’t be happier with the way things have played out.

“We were at the point where I could kind of take my pick of the litter and put together the dream team sort of thing,” he said. “To all of my friends I was like, ‘Hey, come play bass for me.’ What a perfect opportunity.”

Kline said just growing up and playing better has changed him as a musician, but the three years in between albums has also allowed for many experiences and memories to spark inspiration for songs; he recalled how bands like the Beach Boys, Blink 182 and the Descendants still influence him today.

“A lot of things I’ve gone through in the past three years – touring, and getting sick of it, and getting married – have inspired this album,” he said. “Everything that I ever listened to in some weird way… even though I don’t listen to them now, influenced it in some way.”

A long hiatus has made touring a must, and Kline has no complaints about that.

“I like the whole idea of traveling, seeing new places, talking to people and seeing what they are up to in their lives. It’s just really interesting. Even touring in the United States, you see a lot of contrast in the different regions. With international touring it’s so interesting to see other cultures; it’s really cool.”

Asking a musician to choose what favorite song they’ve written is like asking a mother to choose her favorite child, and Kline reacted like a proud mother for his baby, Would It Kill You?.

“It’s really tough, I like them all, I’m really proud of them, I took the time where I could work out the kinks of all of them. We’re super excited that the new record is coming out.”

Hellogoodbye is playing at the Orpheum tonight at 6 p.m., and will be opening for 3OH!3.