When I reply that I think it's musically too bombastic to be precious--although some of the lyrics certainly are--he says he'll have to go back and listen to it again.

Ruess has been listening to the album a lot, in fact, which he says is strange for him, and he's enjoying the time while it's still his own�before it hits stores next Tuesday (June 16) and countless new fans also 'own' it. "This will always feel mine, no matter what, but you make albums so that people can relate," Ruess says. "That's why I started making music."

Ruess worked again with producer Jeff Bhasker, the man who helped turn fun.'s 2012 album Some Nights into a GRAMMY-winning work that spawned multiple hit singles. The pair got together in Nichols Canyon, near to Laurel Canyon in L.A., and opened every single drawer in the house they'd rented for the work.