If you’ve ever wondered where Band of Horses’ laid back twangy sound comes from, here’s your answer — a cottage near Bob Dylan’s boyhood home.

Ben Bridwell, the band’s lead singer, recorded the group’s latest disc, Infinite Arms, near Hibbing, Minn. — less than two hours from the Ontario border. He didn’t pick that place to channel Dylan, though, he just wanted to be alone. “I need to know that people can’t hear me,” he says. “It’s embarrassing when I’m screaming my balls off.”

That’s not the only secluded spot Bridwell has written in — “I’ve done it in a cabin on a lake, a caboose on an ocean and a cabin in the mountains,” he says.

Wherever he writes it seems to be working. The group shot to indie fame in 2007 with the stunning disc Cease To Begin and the new one picks up where that one left off.

For the most part, Infinite Arms sounds a lot like past efforts. Bridwell’s smooth, high-pitched vocals, rich Beach Boys-ish harmonies and folk pop sensibility permeates much of the disc. The singer says he can’t help it if the new record sounds like his older ones.

“I’m limited in my musical ability,” he says. “I started this game late, so it’s not hard for me to sound like me.”

But there are differences. There’s more country twang, the rock songs are louder, and each track is more polished. That could have something to do with the band’s new players. The group has grown from a trio to a five-piece over the last couple of years. Unlike on Cease To Begin, almost all the band members contributed to this record.

“These guys are bringing stuff to the table I wouldn’t write,” says Bridwell. “We finally got talented songwriters so it’s a no brainer that I wanted to expand the reach for new dynamics of songwriting.”

It’s not just the songwriters that are new, however. For the first time, the band financed and produced this record themselves. It was an expensive undertaking, but Bridwell has had a lot of success licensing songs so he was able to pay for everything.

Going the DIY route gave the band more freedom. It also allowed them to sell their disc to the highest bidder, which turned out to be Fat Possum records, a subsidiary of major label Sony Music.

Jumping to a major shouldn’t come as a surprise — other similar sounding acts like Death Cab For Cutie have made the move too.

“There was really no doubt in my mind,” he says. “People have been knocking at the door for a while so I had a good feeling we’d get paid back.”

So far they’re enjoying their new bosses. “It seems exciting to swim in that big pond,” he says “I’m not going to be shy, I wouldn’t hide it if I was having negative experience, but so far there’s been no bullsh—t.”