When I visited Extra Life's MySpace for the first time and read that they had registered in the genre of "Experimental/Gothic/Classical Opera And Vocal," I thought it was probably a joke. I hadn't yet listened to the band's upcoming second album, which comes out a week from today. After doing so, such a classification seems to be right on target. The band's math rock time signatures and geometric melodies might sound familiar to indie rock listeners used to the spiky, hiccupped sounds of the Dirty Projectors. And indeed, band leader Charlie Looker has worked with the Dirty Projectors (on their 2007 album Rise Above) and released a split LP with Dirty Projectors bassist Nat Baldwin in 2008.The album starts off with synthy arpeggios and thundering guitar sounds that wouldn't be out of place on an album by a metal band. Listeners not familiar with math rock might, if pressed, define this collection of songs as a sort of over-enunciated, calmed-down metal album. However, Extra Life's repertoire contains more than just heavy guitars. The title track on Made Flesh includes elements that sound almost Renaissance or medieval, creating an effect not unlike the alt-rock band Tool. "Black Hoodie" features acoustic guitar and strings with Looker's vocals in stark contrast with earlier tracks that rely heavily on synth and dark, blunt-sounding guitar. Looker's bio on his Web site curiously states that his "music and his modus operandi have always been an intuitive synthesis of diverse influences" and that "central to Looker's music is the play between crushing severity and the lighter touch of Irony's ladyfingers."

Like the Dirty Projectors' Dave Longstreth, he holds a degree in music from an East Coast college-an experience Looker describes even more curiously on his Web site: "Looker holds a B.A. in Music from Wesleyan University (2003) where he studied with Anthony Braxton, Alvin Lucier and Mark Stambaugh, however he still considers himself mostly self-taught." Braxton, of course, is an acclaimed avant-garde jazz saxophonist and father of Tyondai Braxton, leader of Battles, one of the math-rock scene's most visible players. Lucier is an avant-garde musician and electronic music pioneer, known for an experiment using voice and cassette tape entitled "I am sitting in a room," which, coincidentally, was composed during Lucier's tenure at Brandeis as conductor of the University Chamber Chorus. Though Looker, et al. keep the music on Made Flesh traditional in terms of instrumentation, the spirit of the avant-garde is certainly alive in Looker's vocals.

Looker's tour blog (the band finishes up a U.S. tour this Saturday but plans no stops in Boston) is full of gems like these, painting an image of a strangely chipper goth dude having a great time promoting his pet project. For example he tells how at a party in Toronto, "We lurked in the corner and got drunk with this guy we met named Tommy Toast, an older ex-bike messenger guy from next door. He kept talking about this cooking show he's starting where he's going to chop everything with a chainsaw. He tried to bring his chainsaw into the party but it got confiscated by this dapper guy who looked way less tough than him." It's worth a visit.

For those interested in learning about math rock (or helping their friends learn to like this rather unapproachable genre), this album might be a good first step. Unlike some math rock on the market these days, Extra Life's Made Flesh avoids truly ear-piercing synths and other alien sounds. The gentle guitar of some tracks helps guide the listener into the warped melodies and thunky rhythms on the album. It'll be interesting to see what's next for this band. With their scrambled rhythms and fermented melodies, they're clearly not destined for the same kind of commercial success as MGMT or Passion Pit, but last year's relatively successful run of the Dirty Projectors' Bitte Orca (it debuted at No. 65 on the Billboard charts in June) may signal a new interest in sounds once considered too thorny for the average listener.