Sitting in an RV on the grounds of the April 4 Circle K Tempe Music Festival in Tempe, Ariz., Mute Math lead singer Paul Meany is exhausted and haggard, complete with bloodshot eyes. That morning, the New Orleans-based band wrapped up the trying process of creating its as-of-yet untitled sophomore album.

"I can honestly say it was probably the most painful experience I've had making music," Meany told Spinner.

He chalks that up to the experience of working with producer Dennis Herring -- but not in a bad way. When Mute Math brought to Herring the original demos, he wrote them off. Meany and the rest of the band thought the songs were OK, but not necessarily bad.

"We played him some of the songs that were troubling us," Meany said. "We thought they were kind of good. We weren't sure. He basically told us, 'Yeah all this is crap. You guys need to write some new songs.' But in that second I realized, 'This is the guy. We need to work with him.' At that point, we started just writing, starting fresh. We probably went through one of the more frustrating times we'd ever experienced but we were flourishing as well."

The 35-plus songs the band wrote were intensely personal, according to Meany. "That's what an artist needs to do," he said. "I never allowed myself into that truly. Dennis was there for a lot of those subconscious rants and stuff that I would not have worked out, and wouldn't want anyone to hear. 'This part is good. Just keep going. Scare yourself.' That's what he kept saying: 'Do something that scares you.'"

The band recorded the album at Herring's Sweet Tea Studios in Oxford, Mississippi. "Stylistically, I'm really proud of what we covered," Meany said. "A lot of us grew up in religious, charismatic circles and most of us learned how to play music by playing in church. It was interesting how a lot of those feelings and the inspiration from traditional good old Southern church music, just came through -- all the way to things we're into now."

The album is expected to be released later this summer.