Aimee Mann has just put the finishing touches on her seventh solo album, which she hopes to release in the spring of 2008 on her own Superego label. Mann tells Billboard.com that the new set, titled "Smilers," is "not a concept album" like 2005's "The Forgotten Arm."

It was produced by Paul Bryan, who also helmed her 2006 holiday album "One More Drifter in the Snow," and Mann says that "the sound is a little bit different for me. It's got a lot of Moog (synthesizer) on it (and) sometimes almost sounds like the Cars a little bit. From song to song, everything gets a different treatment."

Mann also notes that "there's no electric guitar at all, which you weirdly don't miss. It's kind of this all-keyboard situation, which is great. It's an interesting amalgamation of sounds."

Bryan plays bass on the album, with Jay Bellerose on drums and Jamie Edwards on keyboards. "I formed a band that was perfect for this project and stuck with it," Mann says. She also incorporates strings and horns on some songs and duets on one track with San Francisco singer/songwriter Sean Hayes.

Mann plans to preview a couple "Smilers" songs on her upcoming holiday tour, which kicks off Thursday (Nov. 29) in Solana Beach, Calif. She'll also be premiering a short comedy film she made with director Michael Blieden which features appearances by Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo.

"There were a lot of people who were interested in being part of the live show," Mann says, "but they were all either out of town or doing a movie. So there's this kind of cast of stars that for some reason agreed to be in my little, jokey film. I'm excited about that."