Indie rock band Dr. Dog is coming to Higher Ground Jan. 28. They have played together for over a decade and are now touring in support of their most recent album, ?B-Room,? which came out in Oct. 2013. Members include Scott McMicken, Toby Leaman, Frank McElroy, Zach Miller, Eric Slick and Dimitri Manos. McMicken and Leaman are the founding members of the group having formed it while growing up together in Pennsylvania.The Vermont Cynic was able to catch up with lyricist and bassist Toby Leaman to talk about the process of creating the new album and the evolution of the band. Vermont Cynic : What should we know about your latest album, B-Room? Toby Leaman : Well, I can tell you the thing that sticks out the most, at least for us, is that the process is really different. We?ve never really tried to make an album as live as this one was.VC: Do you feel that the first track, The Truth, sets the mood for the album?TL: Definitely. That song is a great example because in that song even the vocals are live. When we figured out what the feel of that song was it ended up taking half a day to do. When something doesn?t take long to do, usually that?s a pretty good indicator that it?s a good thing.VC: What?s your favorite song off the album?TL: If I was going to put a song on right now, I would probably put on Cuckoo. That?s another one of the live ones where it all came together really quick. It was a no-brainer. VC: How do you think your music has evolved and where do you see it going next?TL: I would definitely say we?re way more focused and better.I definitely feel that way individually, that lyrically I just know what I?m trying to say and I definitely have something to say and it isn?t just a bunch of words that sound nice together or just a big concept buried in nonsense. And we?re also a lot stronger in the sense that we know how to edit and do basic stuff. Even in 2002, Scott and I had been writing songs for almost a decade so we had been at it for a long time. I obviously don?t want to write the same song over and over again. I don?t get lost when writing anymore.VC: What?s it like playing and touring with someone you?ve known for so long?TL: I don?t know anything different. Even now at this point, Zach?s been in the band for twelve years. All throughout our twenties Scott and I were on the road, so the friends I have are from before our twenties. We?re together so much so there?s not that much reminiscing going on and we?re always working on a project too so it?s not like ?remember that time?? That?ll happen too but it?s not the basis of why we?re friends. VC: So there are a wide range of instruments used in your music. What are your influences?TL: I?ve always thought the band is sort of a band that is in service to whatever song we are working on and not necessarily beholden to a genre or style. Obviously we?re in this sort of pop and rock sort of zone, that?s where we feel most comfortable, but that?s not where we always draw inspiration from. I don?t want to listen to music that?s the same kind of music I make. It?s not satisfying. It hits kind of close to home. I wouldn?t want to listen to something that I know I can?t do. VC: Does the music have a specific message? Anything you really want people to know about your music?TL: I mean, there?s value to it. I would definitely say it?s worth listening to and there?s quality to it but so far as some overarching theme or genre or even something philosophical. I mean as I said its constantly morphing and changing, at least in my head. How we sell it is just to keep doing it.