Surfacing

Turning the spotlight on musicians making a commercial breakthrough.

-- CASEY DOLAN

“Saosin”

Saosin

Capitol

Artist info: Saosin has a thick sound, as befits the emo-core genre, but there is some harmonic adventurousness in the group’s layered guitar parts, the rhythm section is powerful and lead singer Cove Reber screams less than his brethren on Vans Warped tours. His voice displays melodic subtlety and vulnerability. Add to this an image of five regular guys not covered with tats or piercings and lyrics that deal forthrightly on relationship issues and Saosin has the potential to connect with a large audience.

Back story: Saosin is at work on multiple fronts to spread the word about its new album: seven in-store appearances in one September week, a world tour finishing off the year and a fan-friendly website that encourages the submission of videos and photos. It all began for this Orange County band with a self-produced EP in 2003, “Translating the Name,” and a substantially different lineup -- new singer, drummer and bass player. Those members left amid the usual charges of creative differences, and eventually the current lineup of Reber, Beau Burchell (guitar), Justin Shekoski (guitar), Chris Sorensen (bass) and Alex Rodriguez (drums) was established by the 2004 Warped tour. Capitol Records signed the band in 2005.

Influences: AFI, Avenged Sevenfold, Hawthorne Heights, Underoath

Trivia: The band name, coined by original singer Anthony Green, refers to a Chinese proverb about arranged marriages and translates as “small heart.” It is properly pronounced “shau-sheen” but regularly mispronounced as “say-OH-sin,” which has become the accepted usage for the band.