Dave Grohl has Probot. Isaac Brock has Ugly Casanova. Damon Albarn has Gorillaz and Maynard James Keenan has A Perfect Circle, but don’t for a moment consider that Grand Archives — the band fronted by Mat Brooke (formerly of Band Of Horses) — is a mere “side project.”

“We all knew that would be what we were up against on the first record, and we would have to pay our dues in order to be considered a band and not a side project,” states Brooke, regarding the the plight of a band that also includes or has included members of Carissa’s Weird and The Shins. “Obviously, we are proud of our past projects, and grateful that we were able to access a lot of [the fans of those band]. Hell, that’s actually one of the best parts.”

Despite a readily available fan base, a breadth of experience in songwriting and performance, and a recording contract from Sub Pop plopped in their laps shortly after their initial formation, Grand Archives faced incredible pressure from the public and scrutiny from the press to live up to the hype. But now, as the summer of 2009 winds down, Grand Archives find themselves in a much more comfortable situation.

“The pressure has definitely loosened up, and it feels like we can experiment and grow into whatever way we want now. Other people’s expectations can sometimes have a negative effect on how freely you might create. But who knows — maybe that’s just an excuse to suck,” quips Brooke.

September 15 will bring the release of Keep In Mind Frankenstein, Grand Archives’ full-length follow-up to 2008’s self-titled debut. Buoyant, textured, and poppy, Keep In Mind Frankenstein supplies enough of the same to keep rabid fans of the first release happy, but develops the sound — and the lyrical content — to keep the band evolving and interesting. Brooke’s take on the matter is somewhat ambiguous: “I guess in a way the album could be considered a little bit darker — not for any particular reason. We recorded our first record in the summer, and then this one in the winter, so that might have an effect. We were also making a little bit of an effort,” he adds, “to not just re-record the first album.”

That isn’t to say the recording process wasn’t an enjoyable one. Taking time from their daily lives, the members of Grand Archives fully isolate themselves from distractions to crank out a record free from outside intrusion.

“We go out to this amazing recording studio in Index, Washington. It’s about an hour out of Seattle, up in the mountains. It’s just nice to get away from our day jobs as bartenders or whatever, and concentrate. Its like a vacation, I guess.”

Additionally, the band adds (and sometimes subtracts) members and various instruments. Their numbers were reduced from five to four with the departure of Ron Lewis, who joined The Shins during their recent lineup shuffle, but Brooke maintains that the live performance will not be affected, even down a player. In fact, it seems to open up opportunity for experimentation.

“We usually change things up quite a lot for our lives show to keep them interesting,” he explains. “For example, for our next couple of tours, Jeff [Montano] will be playing a lot of cello to replace some of the bass lines, and it sounds great. It’s an ever-evolving process.”

With the release of Keep In Mind Frankenstein, Grand Archives will hit the road for a month-long fall tour in support of the record, touring mostly with The Most Serene Republic. The tour wraps up around Halloween, with a two-week break separating the start of another tour, and then a trip to Europe after the holidays.

“I think the key is to just to make sure you always get a couple of weeks at home here and there, as opposed to going three months or longer at a time. You can kind of forget who you are at that point,” says Brooke. Following the end of the European tour, “we will just have to see what happens. If anyone still wants to hear us, we’ll come a-runnin’.”