It’s certainly uncommon for a band to show its fans as much love as New Jersey’s Midtown.

“It’ll be the third time we play Iowa in a five-month period,” says Midtown drummer Rob Hitt, referring to the band’s upcoming show at the Maintenance Shop.

“I really do enjoy going back and being able to play the same area; I don’t like neglecting anybody.”

The band’s intense tour schedule has made sure no Midtown fan feels neglected.

After completing two summer tours — a small headlining tour and a larger nationwide tour to promote its most recent album “Forget What You Know” — Midtown has left its mark on quite a few cities around the country.

The constant touring helped the group expose new faces to its music and let old fans have a taste of its new album, which finds the band straying in a new direction.

“Forget What You Know” is Midtown’s first release after having to deal with some rocky times, including a difficult break from its previous label.

After finding a home at Columbia Records, the band was able to get comfortable.

“They understood us, so far we’ve been happier than we have before,” Hitt says.

With their label troubles behind them, the members of Midtown were able to sit down and focus on writing songs they enjoyed for their next album.

“We said, ‘Let’s make sure we write songs we’re going to want to play for the next 20 years. Let’s write timeless music,'” Hitt says.

The resulting album is far departed from the pop-punk anthems that Midtown has put out in the past, focusing rather on darker themes and more mature songwriting.

“You always hear bands say, ‘We’ve matured, we’re darker or heavier,’ [but] we truly have,” Hitt says.

“We’ve truly found ourselves musically.”

Not only did the group members change the way they wrote songs, they were able to add different elements, such as an occasional piano or musical interlude to their music to keep it more interesting.

“We’ve always tried to keep our albums diverse instead of one long stagnant song,” Hitt says.

Switching to a new label has also given Midtown the opportunity to have its music exposed to a new audience through radio exposure, including a chance to perform live on TV.

“That was the first time we played on a TV show.

“I felt like I was playing my first show all over again.

“My palms were all sweaty because you don’t know how many people are watching,” Hitt says.

“It ended up being one of the funnest times we had.

“It was Tyler’s birthday so we brought him out a cake … a vegan cake.”

Hitt says the new approach has been well accepted by both newcomers and longtime fans of the band, even though some fans initially were unhappy about the new album.

Many of them eventually wrote back to the band apologizing and admitting they hadn’t approached the new album with an open mind but had since fallen in love with it.

“That’s one of the most gratifying things we’ve heard,” Hitt says.

With the album in stores and troubles behind it, Midtown seems like a band content to get back out on the road and back into small clubs where it loves to play.

“There’s something special about playing a small room that’s packed with kids singing in your face,” Hitt says.

“I’m happy being on the road as much as I have to sustain what we are doing, because this is a dream, having a career doing what you love.”