As with any trend in music, there are going to be leaders and followers.

For emo (short for emotional) rock, the leaders are bands such as Sunny Day Real Estate and the somewhat late-comers, the Get Up Kids.

Many bands try to follow the lead of these greats, but come up short.

But local group Ettison Clio clearly leads as the best example of this genre to come out of East Lansing in quite a while.

The band consists of interdisciplinary humanities junior Stephanie Gunther (vocals), telecommunication junior J.P. Niemeic (guitar), interdisciplinary studies in environmental policy junior Jared Nisch (bass guitar), and Schoolcraft Community College students Brian Roop (guitar) and Ryan Taucher (drums).

Together, the band melds meaningful lyrics to powerful guitar chops, and the occasional starts and stops add to its uniqueness.

“Last summer” nails the transition from intense bangs to easy listening melody in one swift motion, similar to the band Royal.

Gunther’s voice, a mix between the female vocalist of The Anniversary and Element 101, is a poignant feature, best highlighted on “In case you’re listening,” which demonstrates the group’s nifty use of time signatures.

The only fallback is that Gunther sometimes maintains a monotone voice, failing to stretch her voice at times when it would benefit the song. Taucher’s percussion work is also highly noted on this disc.

This EP is long enough to satisfy a craving for good emo-rock, but short enough to leave the listener drooling for more.

For more information, and to hear this record, visit the Web site at www.ettisonclio.com.