Blue Man Group are on Moby’s Area2 Festival this year and have a few new tricks up their Smurf suits.

“We are currently building a rock concert oriented show that will have all the bells and whistles, but before we add the visual layer, we want to be sure that the music can stand on its own,” said co-founder Chris Wink.

“We are looking forward to our first chance to play our new songs at Area2,” said fellow founding member, Matt Goldman. “We go on during the day, so there won’t be any fancy lighting or any of our usual visual complexity, but if Blue Man Group is going to make it in the rock world, it will have to be on the strength of the music.

“It’s time to throw away the safety net.”

The group’s debut album, tentatively titled The Complex, is scheduled for release this winter. It’ll explore the sonic possibilities of the Blue Man Group’s invented instruments and features a few guest vocalists like fellow Area2 artist Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips.

Area2 starts July 28 and hits amphitheatres around the States through August 16.