The third time could be a charm for Spitalfield, regarding its upcoming release, “Better Than Knowing Where You Are.” The Chicagoland natives will play Friday at The House Café, 263 E. Lincoln Highway. Singer/guitarist Mark Rose shares his thoughts on the album, touring and the venue.

Northern Star: How is the next album different from your previous two releases?

Mark Rose: What we have heard from people who have already heard it and the general consensus is that it has the hard-rock feel of our second record, “Stop Doing Bad Things”. Another explanation could be the pop-rock sensibility of “Remember Right Now” with singing choruses.

NS: How did you decide on the single “Secrets in Mirrors” and how does it compare to the others on the record?

MR: When it comes to decision-making for a first single or what we are shooting a video for, it comes from a lot of factors. You want to pick a song that is most accessible and it will work for a lot of people. It’ll appeal to fans of the radio and not just fans of a certain style of music. We went with that song because it has a memorable chorus and it’s a pretty short song. It doesn’t really sound like any particular Spitalfield song in the past, but it still sounds like us. The song is about what we’ve gone through as a band over the years and what’s to come.

NS: You’re going on tour with a string of in-store performances. Is this something you wanted to try out?

MR: We’ve never done something quite like this before. We’ve played a few in-stores here and there. Essentially the fall tour we were set on doing fell apart. When the record first comes out, those first two weeks are very important. We put on a full headlining tour November through December. We took something negative and turned it into something positive. Negative being the tour fell apart and the positive being we are doing something different. Victory [Records] put together a string of dates and some of them are full-band and some are acoustic performances. I like it because they’re all free and that’s a really cool thing. It’s definitely different and different is good at this point.

NS: Why the decision to have two release shows, one in Wheaton, Ill. and one in Chicago?

MR: This is the first time we’ve tried doing two shows back to back. The second night is in our hometown, Wheaton. We grew up and performed in Glen Ellyn and Wheaton. The city show is at the Beat Kitchen, which is a really cool and intimate club. We thought it would be cool to do one night in an intimate, small-capacity room in Chicago and one night in our hometown.

NS: It sounds like you’re doing a lot of things different now.

MR: It’s more or less for us giving all that we got. We have gone through a lot of experiences and put them toward this record. It seems that a lot of the pieces are coming together with the artwork and promotion.

NS: What are some of your favorite aspects of releasing a record and going back on tour?

MR: Whenever you’re done with a record you’re excited for other people to hear it. With any band, a new release is like a new breath of air.

NS: What’s one favorite thing about touring?

MR: I like seeing repeats of kids at a show who come back. They could be really small intimate shows or big theatre shows, but it’s all about the connection and who you’re playing to. You’re there to have fun and they’re there to have fun. It’s nice to meet kids and get to know them.

NS: What are your ideas of playing in DeKalb?

MR: It’s our third time playing at The House, I believe. The first two times were really good. It’s close enough to home to not be a really long trip. We’re pretty excited about the tour just because I feel like the timing is right. School is back in and the record is coming out. Also my brother’s band, These Satellites, will be performing and I’m excited about that. He goes to school at Northern and it should be a really good show.

Adrian Finiak is a music critic for the Northern Star.