Cowboy Junkies

April 19, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

It’s not so much that the Cowboy Junkies have gone mad as much as the Canadian band was looking to take a musical journey over the past 18 months with its “Nomad Series.”

The unique four-CD collection, which includes 2010’s “Renmin Park” as well as 2011’s “Demons” and “Sing In My Meadow,” culminates with the recently released album “The Wilderness.”

“The whole project began about two years ago when we started to talk about what our next studio album was going to be,” said singer Margo Timmins, calling from her home outside Toronto. “We had so many ideas about what we wanted to do, and my brother Mike, in the middle of it, went off to live in China for three months where he was really influenced by a lot of Chinese musicians. He came back with all of these ideas, and all of a sudden we were talking about putting out a double or a triple album.”

Considering the material the band originally was working on before deciding on “The Nomadic Series” ended up becoming “The Wilderness,” the new CD takes on the unique aspect of actually representing the beginning and end. The former because the material sat around for two years. The latter because the band finally returned to it after taking an esoteric trip of sorts.

To fully understand the mind-set behind the lush soundscapes of “The Wilderness,” the album must be viewed in context with its precursors, including the oddball “Renmin Park,” the Vic Chesnut tribute effort “Demons” and the jam-based “Sing In My Meadow.”

All the releases together capture the eclectic spirit of the Cowboy Junkies — siblings Timmins (vocals), Michael Timmins (guitar) and Peter Timmins (drums), along with Alan Anton (bass) — which is finding a way to return to Northeast Ohio next Thursday for a show at the Kent Stage.

Timmins said this tour is an interesting endeavor for the Cowboy Junkies considering they’re in essence supporting four albums worth of new material. With so many tracks, the outfit is approaching its set as if it’s making a deal with the audience. The first half will find the band tackling tunes from “The Nomad Series,” including the tricked-out, loop-heavy “A Few Bags of Grain.”

However, just like eating the bottom of the cupcake before getting to the tasty frosting, Timmins said for the band’s second set, the group is giving fans its more popular tracks, including “Misguided Angel” and the Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane.” Both tunes are from the outfit’s platinum-selling sophomore effort “The Trinity Sessions.”

Timmins said, “I’m always sort of nervous because you’re asking a lot of people to sit through eight new songs before they get to what they want to hear, but they seem to sort of get into it.”

It should come as no surprise that Timmins gets the most pleasure out of albums that challenge the listener and require repeat listens. In a nutshell, this describes the Cowboy Junkies’ relationship with its fan base from the start. The singer stressed that because the band stuck to its guns and never capitulated from label pressures to position the outfit as something it wasn’t or cut calculated commercial material, the act has survived, which explains why today it’s celebrating 25 years together.

“We haven’t done anything we’re embarrassed about,” Timmins said, laughing. What remains to be seen is whether the group will go through the somewhat de rigueur band phase of recording an ironic album that smacks in the face of its ideals.

“I don’t know, but we will if we want it,” Timmins said. “It won’t be something that’s forced on us or suggested by the powers that be — because there aren’t powers that be in our lives except for ourselves. So if we end up doing it, it’s because we think it’s a great idea.”

After a brief pause, she added, “Or we’ve gone mad.”