Dylan Gilbert didn’t want to walk the beaten path when he sat down to record his latest album, “Pangaea,” which is bringing him to the Caledonia Lounge.

Though this is not Gilbert’s first time coming to Athens or Caledonia, it may be the first time Athenians will see him with his three-piece band, Dylan Gilbert & The Over Easy Breakfast Machine, which partners Gilbert with bassist Zach Jordan and drummer John Harrell.

Harrell said the group came together in April when Gilbert decided he wanted to try a full-band tour for once.

Although Dylan Gilbert is typically known for playing solo, his show tonight at the Caledonia Lounge will feature his full band — Dylan Gilbert & The Over Easy Breakfast Machine — which came together in April. Photo Courtesy of Michael Finster

“It went really well, so we just went ‘screw it’ and kept doing it,” Harrell said.

Harrell was with Gilbert when they took the stage at Caledonia in July.

Gilbert said he is always eager to play in Athens, describing himself as a “Neutral Milk Hotel nerd.”

He credits local musicians Allison and A.J. Weiss for allowing him to get his foot in the door in Athens, which he has reciprocated in helping them land shows in his native Charlotte, N.C.

However, the “Pangaea” tour promises something a little bit different.

The new album represents a break from his usual style, as both a songwriter and a performer.

This proves evident in the experimental last two tracks, the title track and “The Last Thing You Thought About.”

“With other records I’ve done, I really focused on melody and tuning,” said Gilbert, who focuses mainly on the guitar and voice he has been honing for over a decade.

He has learned how to play tons of instruments, including organs amd mandolins.

Though lyrics have always been important to him, “Pangaea” represents the first time Gilbert has ever put so much time into them.

Gilbert said not all of his songs subscribe to one songwriting style or another.

Some of his lyrics are completely true to his own life, while others are about the feelings the words provoke.

Gilbert said he listened to quite a bit of old French music while making “Pangaea,” which shines through in the bittersweet “Isabella,” which uses the titular Isabella to explore his fear of dying penniless and alone like so many of the French musicians that inspired him.

“Songs like ‘My Name Is Arthur’ are not so straightforward,” he said. “They may portray how I feel, but they’re more about building a story.”

Gilbert described the process of music-making as wonderful for the psyche, allowing him to create something out of thin air.

“I think it’s really important for anybody not to bottle up their feelings,” he said.

Though crafting the right lyrics presented a challenge of its own, Gilbert said he also had to fight lazy musical habits, admitting how easy it is to fall back into safe, uninspired pop songs.

Despite the new style, Gilbert and his band have made it a point to go into Caledonia with no response in mind.

“We’d like there to be a lot of people, but you can’t really predict people,” Harrell said. “We’re just going to go out there, play a good show and hopefully inspire some people.”

However that show goes, Gilbert, Harrell and Jordan will return to an Athens stage at the Terrapin brewery on Nov. 17, which will come with the same set of non-expectations.