'Of all the records I've done previously, this is my favorite one,' Evan Weiss tells EW of Into It. Over It.'s third album.

Into It. Over It. type Music

When Evan Weiss set out to write Into It. Over It’s third album, he grabbed his gear and his best friend and collaborator Joshua David Sparks, and headed into the Vermont woods. Fifteen miles south of the Canadian border, they holed up in a small cabin heated only by firewood, spent 12 to 14 hours a day writing music, and came out with 12 tracks that now make up Standards; EW is excited to premiere a first listen of the collection below.

“Of all the records I’ve done previously, this is my favorite one,” Weiss tells EW. “These songs are the most fully realized. It’s the most fun I’ve had writing material ever because the memories I have associated with writing these songs are really positive.” Those memories include snowy nights drinking wine and cooking dinner with Sparks, waking up in the middle of the night to stoke the fire, and driving an hour and a half to fill up on gas and groceries.

For Into It. Over It.’s two previous albums, they had written most of the songs in Chicago studios. “There was so much distraction,” Weiss says when asked why they decided to retreat for Standards. The one-month experience left his creative process completely changed and recharged. “I can’t imagine writing any other way at this point.”

After writing in near-isolation, he and Sparks spent a month recording all the tracks in San Francisco’s Tiny Telephone Studios last spring — John Vanderslice (Spoon, Mountain Goats, Death Cab For Cutie) produced — and now they are finally ready to release Standards to eager fans.

Hear Standards, out March 11, in full below.

Catch Into It. Over It on tour this year.