From the opening salvo of Stellar Kart's third album Expect the Impossible, it's evident that the Dove Award-winning band is revolutionizing its sound with this adventurous, spirited, and totally unexpected pop 'n' roll project.

Returning to helm the project is producer Ian Eskelin (All Star United), who also shepherded Stellar Kart's breakthrough sophomore album, We Can't Stand Sitting Down. That CD yielded the No. 1 hit, "Me And Jesus," which also earned the band its first Dove Award for Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year. "Content, content, content," Eskelin declares. "The music is awesome, the energy is off the charts, but what sets Stellar Kart head and shoulders above the vast majority of its contemporaries is content. These guys are not afraid to say what they believe, straight up, without trying to couch it in some namby-pamby metaphor."

Bill Lurwick, host of NRT's weekly New Christian Music PodCast, took a few minutes to catch up with guitarist Cody Pellerin about the new album and how "content" won out over other approaches to songwriting.

We're excited about the new project, Expect The Impossible and we're doing just that, but how exactly do you follow-up your last album's success? What makes this project special?

Well, our first record that came out was just a collection of songs that we personally liked. On our second record, We Can't Stand Sitting Down we all decided that we needed to be intentional with the songs we write. They needed to have a purpose and a goal to achieve. In writing this new record, it was just another step towards that. Adam, our singer, worked really hard on the lyrics and spent a lot of time writing them. This record will still be Stellar Kart, but it's more mature lyrically and more inspiring.

When do you slip in time to record? Do you guys record as you are touring?

We write while we're on the road, but we usually just block out some time between tours to record. We had this record recorded in two weeks so we try to get in and out of the studio as fast as possible.

Tell us about the first single from the record, "Jesus Loves You."

Adam and our producer [Ian Eskelin] wanted to write a song about being loved by the Lord. They had all these deep thoughts and finally decided that everything they had was pretty stupid. They just stepped up to the plate and said what they needed to say without trying to dodge the subject. One thing that a lot of us have seen is that there are so many in Christian Music that want to say "Jesus Loves You" but they don't want to say "Jesus Loves You." They want to say it some other way without being so up front. When we heard "Jesus Loves You" we thought it was awesome.

How do you keep it real when you're out on the road? Do you have a tour pastor?

We don't. Our bus is so jammed packed, there's no room for anyone else! For some reason, the Lord decided He was going to put His hand on us and keep us in line. The Lord has really been our ultimate accountability partner. He'll show up and just smack us around and pull us back. With the band, we're just all family, so that works out well.

What do you trace that back to? We're you in a strong Christian family growing up?

For me, I had great parents, but it wasn't a Christian home. I always thought I was in control and could do my own thing. When I was 18 I realized that if I continued to try to do everything on my own, all I would do is fail, and all those failures would come back on me alone. All believers will say that they need the Lord, but I believe it. I need the Lord on a daily basis.

What's coming up with touring?

We're doing a CD release tour through March and then we're going to be everywhere. All over the country. Festival season is right around the corner too.

Are festivals a lot of fun?

They are, but they are also a lot of hard work. One day were playing in Jersey, then LA, then Seattle and so on. It's a lot of flying and 4AM wake up calls. But it's a lot of fun.

Take your vitamins brother!

Oh yeah.

Do you have a favorite track on the new record?

I really do love the entire record, but I'm loving "Shine Like The Stars." That particular track is a combination of all the music that we grew up loving. There's a lot of synth and slamming guitar along with the drums. It combines '80s, glamour rock, punk—it's just great.

Thanks for checking in with us here at NewReleaseTuesday.com. Hopefully, we'll talk to you again!

Thank you!