In today's predictable record industry, Texas-based Quiet, Lovely manages to sound somewhat different. Drums are simplistic, yet compelling. Their guitar work is familiar, but something seems new. Its quality is as uneven as the effect it has on you.

It takes some doing to adjust to the band. Tim Jenkins' vocals sound like a nasally Billy Corgan. Oftentimes songs such as "Meridiem" sound like they are building to something, only to repeat the same pre-crescendo progression until the bitter end. The second half plays like an album of lullabies compared to the somewhat intense first half.

Throughout the album and particularly on the giddy "What A Good Boy Am I" there's something off, whether it's the timing of the backup instruments or the key of the bass. For a while it seems artistic, though the accessory noises muddle the content of the album. But after a while, it seems less artistic than it does amateur.

But technical and artistic flaws aside, "Automata, Musica" takes hold of you without squeezing. "Low" is rich and complex, managing to be both somber and bouncy at once, picking up and sending it home for the finale. "Saturday Night" and "Demise" segue nicely into one another thanks to Johnathan Standefers' powerhouse drumming.

The only time the band slips up is when it skews overtly to emo, substituting quality music for depressing poo laced with purposely obnoxious vocals on the plodding "Breakdown."

But a few bad apples don't ruin the bunch. "Automata, Musica" is decidedly different from the rest of what's out there.

A.P. Kryza