Turn it Down interview: Matthew Milia of Frontier Ruckus

This new album seems to be going into the pop genre. What made you move in that direction?

For whatever reason I’ve just been gravitating toward, or finally fully indulging in, melodies that are deliberately catchy or sweet sounding in a more immediate classic pop sense. It’s always been in my DNA to flip out over super hooky, poppy melodies, from the first cassette tape I owned, R.E.M.’s “Green.” And for the past four years or so, my musical curiosities have been way more directed toward exploring bands with those gratifying, jangly melodic sensibilities: Big Star, Teenage Fanclub, Matthew Sweet. Even things I loved from the radio growing up, like Oasis or Gin Blossoms. It really stems from classic ‘60s power pop or folk pop that I think had an awesome re-flowering in the ‘90s.

How did switch up your writing style changed for this record?

The only real change might be in terms of tapering back the sheer quantity of lyrical content and relying on choruses more often, or some might say, for the first time ever, really. I’ve never been big on choruses because I never could justify repeating something when I could use the space to say something new. But in embracing more conventional pop structures, the idea of using choruses came along with it, and they’ve been fun to work with. We also deliberately made a much shorter record to contrast our last album, “Eternity of Dimming,” which was a 20-song double-album of some 5,600 words.

What inspired the lyrics?

It’s very much the result of a relationship abruptly ending and trying to grapple with those feelings. It was the first time I’d really been on the losing end of a breakup and I was dealing with quite a lot of grief and a bit of resentment. Each song deals with the situation with a varying amount of earnestness, humor or vitriol. It was therapeutic and interesting to approach heartbreak from a multitude of angles.

What was the songwriting process?

When you’re using songwriting as a sort of dire, immediate self-therapy, the songs come pretty quick. I remember just pacing around the neighborhood of my dad’s house in the dead of winter full of anxiety and grief and putting words together in my head. By the time I’d get back inside I’d have three verses fully written in my head — exactly the way I wanted them phrased without changing a word. Emotional necessity really streamlines things sometimes.

This album is sonically different from past LPs. Will it affect your live set?

I think these songs are the most naturally geared toward a dynamic live performance than any I’ve written. That may have been a consideration in the back of my mind. Overall, they are shorter tunes with upbeat tempos and catchy repeating parts — classic elements to an immediately accessible and fun live show. Until now we’ve been known for our intensely lengthy and circuitous songs that require pretty diehard fandom to access. And it’s always stunned me to see people emphatically singing along to those tunes with like 10 verses and no chorus.

If you handle the creative vision, who is handling everything else behind the scenes?

William Morris Endeavor books us. It’s funny because it’s basically the biggest talent agency in the world. It’s what the show “Entourage” was based on. So we joke around about being really “showbiz” all the time. The fact that we’re next to the Foo Fighters on the roster is very surreal to us.

Have you ever been star-struck while on the road touring?

We definitely cross paths with famous people and I end up talking very quickly and getting all hyper. Alanis Morissette was at our first ever show in L.A. She was smaller than I’d imagined. Ryan Adams came to one of our shows, which spurred an ongoing correspondence. We shared a festival stage in England with Belle and Sebastian, which is one of Zach’s all-time favorite bands.

What are some favorite cities to play on tour?

We do well in most of the big cities, by our standards at least. We just did a solid two-night stand in Manhattan/Brooklyn. London shows are always wild. My favorite towns to play in are New York, Boston and Seattle. But I think it’s because my favorite sitcoms are based in them.

Frontier Ruckus

“Sitcom Afterlife” Release Party wti Gifts Or Creatures Saturday, Nov. 1 8 p.m., all ages, $15 $12 adv.