When their label, A&M Records, was absorbed as part of 1998's Universal Music Group merger, the members of Denver band 16 Horsepower had no illusions about what their fate would be. "They dropped us," frontman David Eugene Edwards says flatly.

"We had known it was a long time coming. We were surprised they signed us in the first place, actually; we expected it to end in any given week. That it lasted three years is almost amazing in itself."

The good news is that Edwards and his bandmates were never in dire straits. The group had a number of offers, mostly from independent labels. Ultimately the moody Americana trio, whose sepia-toned music has earned comparisons to Nick Cave and Johnny Cash, chose New York-based Razor & Tie to release its third full-length, Secret South.

The members of 16 Horsepower also chose this outing as the right time to produce their own music, hauling a bunch of recording gear to a mountain cabin in Blue River, Colo., where the musicians alternately recorded and fished. "What we tried to do was make [the album] our own from start to finish and make it a good representation of what we hear as our music," says Edwards, who lives in Denver with his wife and two children.

"We've been fortunate to work with really good producers in the past, but when you work with a producer, a lot of times your music changes; you know that going in, and you're OK with that.