It’s 5:05 p.m., and Seth Trotter just woke up. The vocalist for local R&B-tinged pop-punks The Higher can’t be faulted, however, as his band returned home from Los Angeles just yesterday upon completing its third full-length album, It’s Only Natural.

Though the now-foursome reteamed with On Fire producer Mike Green for Natural, Trotter promises “a lot more rock” than on previous efforts, plus narrative, more personal and darker lyrics. The subject matter, he says, entails no less than “everything.” “Every side of relationships you could possibly cover, which is break-ups or being cheated on or a girl that wants to leave home and follow her dreams. We have songs about death; we have songs about life and hardships on the road. We have one song that’s actually about picking up a girl at a funeral.”

Regarding former guitarist Tom Oakes, Trotter insists the amicable parting ultimately benefited both parties and won’t be addressed musically. Confirms Oakes, whose new More Amor duo with onetime You in Series singer Kyle Lobeck recently debuted via iTunes and plays New York’s CMJ Music Festival in October, “I was kind of tired of being in the backseat to The Higher. Not that I was ever treated like I was, I was just ready to do my own thing.”

Beyond two fall tours and a February release, Trotter promises nothing more than optimism. “It is the equivalent of the six years we’ve spent getting to this point,” he enthuses. “This is going to be the record for The Higher.”