Three decades after forming in 1986, Scotland’s Trashcan Sinatras are only now releasing their sixth studio LP, titled Wild Pendulum. And yet they’ve released more irresistible vocal harmonies with only six albums than most artists could manage with a dozen.

Their timeless brand of power pop hasn’t earned them mainstream recognition beyond a brief stint as the next Smiths after the release of their 1990 debut Cake, but their soulful melodicism and rich baroque sensibilities are more than enough to maintain a loyal fan base in between their oft-delayed releases. We spoke with the band’s vocalist and acoustic guitar player Francis Reader about recording their first album in seven years, how things have changed after 30 years in music and meeting Willie Nelson naked.

Homebase/Hometown: I live in LA, and the rest live in Glasgow. Our management is LA-based.

Describe your music to someone who's never heard it before.

Extravagantly melodic, soulful, fun.

You guys started as a cover band. Did that help you bond over your shared musical tastes?

We didn’t start as a cover band in the barroom sense, just threw in some covers to fatten our set out. And yes, many dirty musical secrets were uncovered.

What's your songwriting process like?

Waiting. We share songs and ideas with each other and whomever feels the love for a certain idea gets on with advancing it. We still look to impress each other.

What or who was influencing you while recording this album?

Much orchestral pop music, really. ABC, ABBA, baroque pop.

Was it difficult or daunting to begin recording your first record since 2009?

Not really. We had an unusually distinct idea (for us) of the type of sound we were building. It was a little worry in the back of our minds that it might not all come together, importing our pre-production work with Simon Dine and asking Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott to embellish, arrange and refine it, but it worked out great from the start.

This album was announced all the way back in October 2014. How did you guys spend the time between then and now? Were you working in the studio a lot?

There were about five to six weeks of working with Mike and Nate — three of them spent in the Bright Eyes studio in Nebraska — then the rest Mike was mixing and mastering. The pledge campaign was pretty involved too—feeding that insatiable beast will eat up your time.

Were you consciously trying to do anything different from your earlier records with Wild Pendulum?

Yes, we were keen to hear some new sounds around us. Simon and I had started to work on songs before the other Trashcans banged at the door and demanded to be allowed to play too.

How did Mike Mogis's involvement influence the record?

He was the glue. There seemed to be a lot of paths we could choose to take with the songs, and Mike had the authority and decisiveness. He inspired trust, and worked very tastefully.

Was there any sort of mission statement behind this album, or did it simply grow organically?

There was a distinct idea to make an ornate record, and not to worry about any chaos or cacophony. Lyrically, a lot of it was last minute. It’s all organic, however it grows.

The production on this record feels especially lush and loaded with minor but crucial touches. How do you decide when and how to add all those little flourishes?

We spent three years working on these tunes, and much of the credit for the sonics goes to Simon Dine, who builds these beautiful orchestral scenes, for which we wrote ourselves leading roles, and hammed them up. We just built up the off-Broadway version together in that time, and Mike/Nate put it on Broadway.

How has recording and touring changed, and how have you changed, since first starting in the late '80s?

Recording is no longer something we look at beyond the one album we’re making at the time. Each one could easily be our last. Touring is more exhausting, with more bathroom stops. I haven’t seen much change in the people around me — I think they’re the same people I met 30 years ago, while I feel I’ve changed a lot. Everyone else would probably say the same.

What's the craziest experience you've ever had on tour?

Various embarrassing drunken fights and pompous outbursts — too many to mention. Meeting Willie Nelson in a hotel room while naked (me, not Willie) was pretty surreal.

One random fun fact about Trashcan Sinatras?

We recorded most of our delightful oeuvre in our own studio, Shabby Road, whilst wearing pajamas.