With the Butthole Surfers quiet since the release of Weird Revolution in 2001, ringleader Gibby Haynes has turned his attention to a self-titled release with a new backing band, His Problem.

Though Haynes recently relocated to New York City, Gibby Haynes and His Problem (due August 31st on Surfdog Records) was a Texas affair, as his band includes guitarist Kyle Ellison, bassist Nathan Calhoun and drummer Shandon Sahm (the son of Lone Star legend Doug Sahm). Also making guest appearances are Haynes' fellow Surfer Paul Leary, who mixed part of the album and plays some keyboards, and Texas legend Augie Meyers (the Sir Douglas Quintet).

The album began to take shape during a six-month period when Haynes commuted from San Antonio to Austin on a daily basis. Haynes sketched out the songs in rudimentary form, and to his (and his label's) surprise, it quickly developed into a full-fledged band project. "The label asked me to record, but I don't think they expected to hear anything for awhile," he says. "But we got around to it pretty quickly and we recorded a lot of it on credit before they even had a chance to pay for it. They were so used to my bullshit that they were blown away when we had a finished album."

By Haynes' description, Problem leans closer to the melody-inclined Weird Revolution than the scary sounds of early Surfers. "It's not really anything new," he says. "I wanted to do something new, but it just didn't come out as anything too original, just straight up pop rock . . . which I was kind of ashamed of. I want to be [experimental electronic artist] Squarepusher so bad."

But despite those pop promises, Surfers fans can count on his usual fountain for inspiration ("Television, man") and a new breed of Gibbytronix, the pet name for his calling card of voice manipulation, often via a bullhorn. "Newer forms of the 'Tronix are birthing at this very moment," Haynes says, laughing. "The laptop is very fertile ground for Gibbytronix. So you can count on it being there." Haynes cites the Reactor computer program, created by Native Instruments, as his current 'Tronix tweaker of choice.

And the obligatory lyrical mayhem, often non-sensical, also looks to be present and prevalent, especially on the opening cut, "Kaiser." "It's kind of a sex-drenched nihilism thing," Haynes says. "I'm not completely sure what it means, but there's something to do with sex -- I know that. You can expect a middle-aged, fat, bald guy in a Kaiser outfit . . . with a whip."