Folk-rock band Southeast Engine has been playing together since they were teenagers. Singer and songwriter Adam Remnant explains that at that time they were just having fun with music. However, their most recent album “Canary” displays a new level of music.

“[‘Canary’] is more developed artistically and conceptually,” Remnant said. “It’s us growing up.”

“Canary,” which was released on March 29, is the fifth album for the band and their fourth with Misra Records.

Their previous albums with the company include “From the Forest to the Sea” (2009), “A Wheel Within a Wheel” (2007) and “Coming to Term With Gravity” (2007).

Their first album “Love is a Murder, a Mystery of Sorts” was self-released in 2003.

Remnant and drummer Leo DeLuca formed what would later become Southeast Engine in 1999. They grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and attended the same schools. Soon after the band’s formation, they moved to Athens, Ohio, where they were inspired by the Appalachian culture and folk music of the area. The band was completed when Remnant’s younger brother Jesse Remnant joined on bass in 2007 and Billy Matheny joined on piano, organ, banjo and guitar in 2008.

When making “Canary,” the band decided that they wanted to develop the themes of the album to their full potential.

Many of the themes on the album were inspired by Athens, Ohio, where the band has lived for a decade. This area of Southeast Ohio was full of mining towns in the early twentieth century; however, by the time the Great Depression rolled around, these mines became extinct.

The album tells the story of a fictitious Appalachian family during the Great Depression.

“[‘Canary’] is more grounded in reality,” Remnant said.

The album’s name, “Canary,” is derived from the history of the mining towns. Miners used to lower a canary into the mine to test the air quality.

“It seemed to work as a metaphor for the whole album,” Remnant said.

When it comes to songwriting, Remnant said that he tries not to force the process.

“I try to let them present themselves to me,” Remnant said. “The unconscious mind has more potential.”

He described that one line may come to him out of nowhere, and he will see where that line takes him.

However, once he has this line, he does not force the rest of the song because it will eventually come to him.

“Canary” features songs such as “Cold Front Blues,” “1933 (Great Depression)” and “Adeline of the Appalachian Mountians.”

The band recently began their 2011 tour and will be making a stop at the Billiken Club.

Remnant explained that when deciding which songs to play, they consider which ones will translate to their live show best.

“We try to keep it dynamic,” Remnant said. “We want it to be a sort of triumphant event.”

Southeast Engine will be playing at the Billiken Club on Friday, April 8. The show will start at 9 p.m., and admission will be free. Theodore will be opening for Southeast Engine. Remnant said that Southeast Engine is friends with Theodore and that he is excited to play with them.