Plain White T’s have been serenading fans regularly with their power-pop melodies since 1997. But most listeners didn’t tune in until the 2007 release of their Grammy-nominated single, “Hey There Delilah,” 10 years after the band formed. Although the band found its fame in “Delilah,” the T’s are trading out the sound its listeners knew and loved for something a little more uptempo.

Now, Plain White T’s has released its sixth studio album (and third on their current label, Hollywood Records), entitled _Wonders of the Younger_. Lead singer Tom Higgenson believes that his band has really done something great with this new album.

“Every album we make we try to look at it differently,” Higgenson said. “With this album…we wanted to capture the feeling of lost youth.”

Surprisingly, the concept for the new album came to Higgenson from a Cirque du
Soleil performance called “O.”

“I left there feeling like I’d witnessed something I’d never seen before,” Higgenson said. “I had the idea then and there that this is the way I wanted our album to feel like.”

The band has gone in the opposite direction of their last album, _Big Bad World_, in which they tried to create the illusion that they were in the rooms of their listeners, playing songs specifically for them. In _Wonders of Younger_, the band shot for illusions of wonderment and magic.

With this album, Plain White T’s has managed to keep a balance of its sweet, acoustic love songs that have the aura of “Hey There Delilah,” also incorporating songs that are more on the upbeat, pop-punk side.

But, Higgenson doesn’t just want to rewrite “Delilah.”

“I think it’s amazing that I wrote song that the whole world reacted to,” Higgenson said. “We all still love the song and love to play it, but if we write a song with more electric guitar and drums, then so be it.”

The band will launch their Wonders of the Younger Tour on April 3.

“We’re doing more of a show on this tour, more of a production,” Higgenson said. “We’re excited about bringing this album to life. Plus, we’re excited about playing in Columbia.”

Plain White T’s will perform with Parachute and Andy Grammar on Wednesday, April 6 at The Blue Note.