Don’t tell Superdrag’s John Davis there are no second acts in American lives. Back in the mid-’90s, in the heady post-Nirvana alternative rock world, Superdrag was being hailed by many as the best American power-pop band since Big Star. Record label troubles and personnel changes dogged the Knoxville-based group, but in spite of all, the band made a series of great albums.

And then it was all over. Or so it seemed. In a surprise move last summer, original members Don Coffey Jr., Brandon Fisher and Tom Pappas reunited with Davis for a handful of shows.

“We never made any blanket statement that we would never play music together again,” says Davis, who dissolved the band in 2003. “We always kept the door open, after we stopped working together. But by the time we stopped, we were in danger of running things into the ground. Plus, I had a lot of things to figure out for myself, spiritually.”

Davis is alluding to an event that occurred in November 2001. Driving alone, overworked and his health damaged by alcohol, the singer-guitarist pulled to the curb and began to pray. Something stirred deep within him, and in an instant he knew his life would never be the same.

“I guess you could call it a spiritual awakening, to the utmost,” he says. “It really changed everything about my life. Afterwards I started to feel I was in a cover band, in my own band. I had written these songs, and we would go out and play them, but I wasn’t able to connect with them any longer.”

Davis remained with Superdrag long enough to complete one more album, but soon afterward the band members went their separate ways. By that time Davis had settled in Nashville, where he recorded two solo albums and did session work, most notably on Allison Moorer’s 2004 album, “The Duel.” Strangely enough, as time passed, his sense of estrangement from Superdrag’s old material began to fall away as well.

“We got together and played a lot of our really early music, things we had done before signing to a major label,” Davis explains. “And I began to see that it was still an honest expression of what the truth was in those days, even if it was about things I don’t subscribe to today. The truth is, it was just enjoyable to play music with those guys again. The chemistry was still there, so much so that it was kind of bizarre.”

This past February, Superdrag went into the studio to begin work on new material. Splitting its time between Coffey’s recording facility in Knoxville, and Lake Fever Productions in Nashville, the group has since completed several songs. Davis says the band’s style hews close to Superdrag’s signature sound, which he describes as an amalgam of Dinosaur Jr-inspired guitar noise, Husker Du-style energy, and melodies that aspire toward the pop sophistication of the Beatles.

“I remember having an imaginary band in mind that would have those things, in equal parts,” he explains. “I didn’t really know, at the time, that that was considered power-pop.”

A release date for the comeback CD has yet to be set, but several songs were debuted during a performance at this year’s Bonnaroo Festival. Davis says he’s been surprised by the enthusiasm with which long-standing fans have re-embraced the group.

“The outpouring of love has been pretty overwhelming,” says Davis. “For our reunion to mean as much as it seems to mean, to a lot of people, is flattering and humbling at the same time. We feel privileged.”