Published: June 01, 2006 06:05 pm         

Situs debuts new CD in concert tonight

The new album “Make Us See” by young Terre Haute band Situs finds the guys’ sound maturing smoothly from their debut 2005 CD “Last Day in Advance.”

Situs’ lineup now includes guitarist Bryar Nevins alongside singer Elliot Usrey,

lead guitarist

Marcus Rogers, drummer Nick Hofmeister, keyboardist Logan Lundstrom and bassist Jeff Gorham.

And they’ll unveil their latest offering at a 7 p.m. concert today in the Indiana Theatre, following opening acts Forever At Last, and Blake Douglas and Ted Jungers. Tickets are $8 in advance at the box office, and $10 at the door.

“Make Us See” features 11 new original songs, as well as a mood-setting intro called “Vision of Night,” with acoustic guitar and piano accompanied by sounds of a rainy night.

Descriptions of the music from the band mention a blend of four decades of rock, and those influences show up on “Make Us See” in some surprisingly refreshing combinations. The third track, “Seize This,” layers straight-up rock over a country beat and rockabilly piano from Lundstrom. The power chords and orchestral sounds of the opening song “Walk Away” offers hints of Styx. And there’s more ’80s style rock ballads such as the electric version of “Can’t Explain Me,” “Disbelief” and “Thought.”

Situs dips into some metal, too, on “My Surprise” with Usrey deftly handling that genre’s trademark — the scream. And the title track “Make Us See” would fit perfectly into the song rotation on 21st-century college rock radio.

The album finishes strong. An acoustic version of “Disbelief” bares the song’s catchy melody, the guitarists’ virtuosity and Usrey’s personalized singing.

And that’s followed by “Goodnight My Love” with the CD’s best vocal and lyrical moments.

The band’s progress through their first two albums leaves the impression that CD No. 3 could be a big breakthrough.