The Scott Wiggins Band’s third album has been a long time coming—but it was worth the wait.

Frontman and principal songwriter Scott Wiggins began crafting his new song songs three years ago, amassing a library of more than 100 tunes that was eventually whittled down to the nine originals (plus one outside song) that make up the group’s new album, A Thousand Words. The band started preproduction in September 2009, and took time to hone in on the sound they were looking for—one the members call “progressive country.” “It’s been a long process, but I think that’s a good thing,” Wiggins says. “You take the time and write the right songs instead of throwing something random on there.”

The result is an album that reflects the enormous musical growth the Scott Wiggins Band has demonstrated throughout its career, beginning when Wiggins and drummer John Diaz first began jamming together almost a decade ago. The two met bass player Ryan Fedako while attending college at Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi. “When we first met, we all lived together with a bunch of people in the house in college,” recalls Diaz. “We get along great. We’re like brothers, but everybody has a different personality. We’re good together.”

The band members clicked on both a personal and musical level, drawing from a shared pool of influences that range from fellow Texas-based acts like Pat Green to more mainstream country artists like Gary Allan, and from classic rockers like Elvis Presley and the Beatles to 1990s alternative rock. “But over the last five years we’ve realized that I’m essentially a country singer,” Wiggins says. “We can rock it up, but we sound more grown-up and polished now.”

The group began attracting crowds in nightspots around Corpus Christi, and released its first album, Only See, in 2006, followed the next year by Burn. Looking to expand its reach, the band relocated to New Braunfels, Texas, and Burn was recorded amid the hustle and bustle of nearby Austin. But for A Thousand Words the band convened with producer Keith Davis (formerly the group’s lead guitarist) in the more peaceful climes of the Zone Recording Studio, located outside Dripping Springs, Texas. “If you need a break from the studio, you just walk out and it’s an open field with some cows,” notes Wiggins with a laugh. “It’s awesome. It was so tranquil and peaceful. It was very relaxed, and everything went smoothly.” Three years after the recording of its sophomore effort, the group was elated to release its pent-up creative energy. “It was a great experience working with Keith and [engineer] Pat Manske, who are two really great guys that make a good team together,” says Fedako. “It felt good to finally get back in there.”

The songs on A Thousand Words address a full range of concerns, hopes and challenges that reflect the lives of both the group and its listeners. “I tend to write about relationships, whether between a man and a woman or between friends,” says Wiggins. “I write about life in general—happiness, broken hearts, loneliness.” The first single, for instance, is “Best Dress,” which explores the difficulty of opening up to a partner in a new relationship. “That song is about a girl who has a rough past, and she’s trying to leave it behind,” Wiggins explains. “She’s with this new guy, and he wants her to let go of the past and let bygones be bygones. I just sat down with my guitar and the words came, and the story developed itself.”

A line from another track, “Lean,” provided the album with its title. “We've always tried to find a phrase from the lyrics that explains the whole album and where we are as a band,” says Diaz. “At this point, we have a lot to say and a lot to show people, and A Thousand Words says that.” The album’s sole outside composition comes from the group’s friends in fellow Texas act the Eli Young Band. “Down” was penned by singer Mike Eli, James Young, and one of his regular songwriting partners, Blu Sanders. “We got that song at the last minute—they sent it to us two days before we finished tracking,” Wiggins says. “It sounds great.”

The group has enjoyed regional success for several years now—singles like “Lonely Is Holding Me” and “Perfect Way to Fall” are familiar to Texas radio listeners. But with its new album, the Scott Wiggins Band is poised to introduce itself to a much larger audience. “I want to be big in Texas, because we started in Texas,” Wiggins acknowledges. “ But I’m not afraid to say that I want to grow nationally. We want people to respect us and know that we’re talented, because we all put all of our hearts into this record.

“We’re going to enjoy this ride and not sweat the small things, as long as we know we’re giving it 100 percent. That’s all we can do, and the rest is in the hands of God and the fans.”