Ten years ago, The Wrens, a rock band from New Jersey, were doing big things. They’d released two albums to critical acclaim; they were gaining name recognition; they seemed to be creating a strong presence on the indie scene. When their small label was sold and redeveloped, The Wrens were then offered every musician’s dream: substantial money and a shot with a major label — but only if the group agreed to modify their melodies and lyrics to make them much more radio-friendly.

The Wrens refused. The label proceeded to drop them and decided to focus on another band they thought had potential: Creed. With the label’s support behind them, Creed’s popularity exploded, while The Wrens languished in obscurity for almost a decade, writing music that was under the radar and waking up every day to work in their regular jobs — finance departments, ad agencies, Pfizer.

But with the release of 2003’s “The Meadowlands,” a sonically gorgeous and lyrically devastating album, The Wrens came back to music with a purpose. They bring their show to the Black Cat tomorrow night; members Charles Bissell and Kevin Whalen were kind enough to take time out of their busy schedule to e-mail back and forth with DCist and answer a few of our questions.