By the time a band gets to recording their third album, some feel that's the moment you want to try something new. At least, that's Seattle's Hey Marseilles thought when they decided to enlist producer Anthony Kilhoffer, who's known for his hip-hop collaborations with Kanye West, Kid Cudi and Rick Ross, for their new self-titled album, set to release on February 5 via Shanachie Records.

While an unlikely choice for the indie rock band, the musical risk brought them an evolved sound that still carries the Hey Marseilles signature and a chance to work with The Late Late Show With James Corden music director Reggie Watts on the track, "Perfect OK."

We spoke with guitarist and lead singer Matt Bishop about the band's slight sonic transition, their first time working with an outside producer and the new meaning behind covering David Bowie.

How was this time different from the last album?

This the first record we used a producer for, and the first time we booked studio time and tried to confine the amount of time we worked on it. Our first two records were done in our home studio where we gave ourselves an unlimited amount of time and space. But this time, we used a producer from Los Angeles, who predominantly worked in hip-hop. He put a new lens on the type of songs we were writing and type of album we collectively wanted to put together. So it's a different process from the previous two, but we're really happy with the way it turned.

What was it like working with Anthony Kilhoffer? What drew you to working with someone who's outside of your musical comfort zone?

We were at a stop creatively. We challenged ourselves and focus it a bit more. So we could hopefully reach a broader audience. Our first two records are full four to six-minute long ballads about sadness and being a white guy who's had his heart broken. We're really like, "How can we take the lyrical and melodic strengths of what we do and put that in an envelope that might be more compelling to a lot more people."

Anthony Kilhoffer was one of the people that we met with in LA last summer when we were writing the demos for the record. But really, we didn't think much about it because he comes from a different background. But he reached out to us a couple of weeks after we met him and really expressed an interest and energy and wanting to work with us. We thought it would be a really compelling and interesting risk to take, and he was awesome. He had no problem telling us when he thought our ideas were crappy. He was one of those people who's really convincing and makes you laugh when he tells you how horrible your ideas are.

How did Reggie Watts get involved in the project as well?

Actually it was suggested by Anthony just because that song that he's on, "Perfect Okay," kind of felt like it would fit what Reggie's aesthetic is. Anthony suggested it out of nowhere, and we actually have a connection with Reggie. He's from Montana, but he lived in Seattle for a while and had a band that's really well-known here. One of our managers is an ex-manager of his. We just reached out to him, and he expressed an interest in it. And it all worked out.

You guys have been playing the newer material for a while now. So what song sticks out to you as the most memorable or fun to work on?

Speaking for myself, the one that's the most resonant is "North and South." It's a song that would pretty much fit on our old records, but we brought it to the studio and Anthony deconstructed it. He put this electronic beat to behind it and stripped away the instrumentation, and it has this totally different feel. Though lyrically and melodically, it would fit into songs we'd work on before. And also, it's just a very personal song to me, in terms of where it came from and the emotional resonance it has still.

You guys also covered "Heroes" by David Bowie. What inspired the decision to cover that particular song? And with his recent passing, does it hold new meaning for you?

We have never put a cover on a record before, and we didn't really intend to do that at all. It was the last song we recorded. It was the last song we recorded in our home studio. But we had been messing around with it last summer on tour and messing around with demos of some cover songs. We were so happy with how that one turned out, and it really felt like it fit the aesthetic. And then, it's also one of the most covered songs in pop music. We felt our that our version of it is unlike any that have been done before. So it just felt like it fit. So we decided to put it on the record.

With David Bowie's birthday and his passing a few days later just reminds us how important he's been. It feels, for us, a tribute that hopefully measures up and speaks to how influential he's been across a significant period of time.

What's your definition of success?

We started super young, and we actually didn't think we'd become a band in the way that we have. Just the fact that we're still playing music together and put out [two] records are things that exceeded our expectations. We want to keep pushing ourselves and find ourselves in a spot where we're financially stable where we have people who keep wanting us to keep making records. And hopefully after this album comes out, both of those things will continue to be true.

What are the plans for 2016?

We're going on tour. It's the biggest tour we've ever done – about eight weeks total. Then we're releasing the record obviously. Then depending on how that goes, we'll tour again in the fall and play some summer festivals and start writing for our next record. But really, we're going to keep giving it our all and see where we land. And hopefully people will still want us to keep making music.