Pentatonix drop Can't Sleep Love and preview new album

Published on September 4, 2015 02:52PM EDT

Photo: Ross Gilmore/Redferns via Getty Images

Texan quintet Pentatonix made waves with a cappella versions of hits by artists from Lorde to Daft Punk, but on Pentatonix, out Oct. 16, they’ll show off their first set of original material — the first single from which, “Can’t Sleep Love,” dropped on Friday.

“We’ve proved we can sing and we can arrange, now we want to prove we can write,” singer Scott Hoying says. “We really wanted to push ourselves. We want to establish ourselves as original artists and show that we have something to say!”

Just like the tunes they cover, Pentatonix’s new songs will range “from chill, soulful stuff to upbeat, poppy craziness,” Hoying says. And while Pentatonix is the band’s initial foray into original material, their previous studio albums mean they’ve got the nuances of recording down pat. “Generally we go the studio with a couple ideas and start messing around with them,” says Hoying. “Then we just follow what inspires us!

But how does the group see its role on airwaves dominated by EDM and hip-hop bangers? “[A cappella] is something entirely different, and entirely driven by raw vocal ability,” the band’s Mitch Grassi says. “Listeners always appreciate singers, and to have a group that solely relies on their voices to create their music is quite a deviation from the monotony of pop music.”