Plain White T's - American Nights

It's been years since the Plain White T's kicked off their career in the Chicago suburbs, playing a mix of pop, punk and melody-driven rock & roll in basements and clubs across the metro area.A decade-and-a-half later - with several thousand shows and a string of platinum-selling singles, including the mega-hit ''Hey There Delilah'' under their belts - the guys haven't stopped heading back to the basement to dream up new sounds. There's where the Plain White T's put the finishing touches on American Nights, the band's first independent album since 2001.Independence. It's what American rock & roll - and American night - have always been about. Even during the band's days with fearless and Hollywood Records, the Plain White T's thrived on doing things their own way. They'd hire close friends to produce their albums and ask high school classmates to direct their music videos. Now, five years after the release of Wonders Of The Younger, they're upping the ante by striking out on their own as an independent band, even putting the finishing touches on their newest album in frontman Tom Higgenson's basement studio.The result is American Nights, an album that focuses on everything fans have come to expect from the Plain White T's - summery anthems, heart-on-sleeve lyrics, acoustic love songs while still breaking new ground.