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Straylight Run's lead singer and songwriter John Nolan may still be best known for his days with fellow Long-Island-based band Taking Back Sunday, but his band now isn't looking back. Instead, Straylight Run is focused on its second full-length album.

"We just finished mastering it. We're very happy with it," Nolan said. "We've had to do everything ourselves, but it's actually been an easygoing process."

Nolan and the rest of Straylight Run are playing in the Grand Ballroom of the Stamp Student Union tonight as part of SEE's "Mix Tape" series. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show begins at 7:30 p.m.

Although the four-piece band has been unsigned since its contract with Victory Records ran its course, the band members have been recording and mixing on and off since July - and have loved the experience of doing it themselves, Nolan said.

"It was our choice to make the record on our own. We knew that if we made the record we wanted to, we could take it to the labels," Nolan said. "This way, we could avoid the expectations of the label while we recorded it. It's been a relaxed environment, and we're just happy with it."

Nolan also revealed that he believed Straylight Run had found its suitor. The band is in the process of talking to Universal Republic (Jack Johnson, The Who and 3 Doors Down are also on the label).

"It's basically a done deal. We just haven't put ink to paper yet," Nolan said. "But they're excited, and they're content to let us do what we want, so it seemed good."

Nolan expects the deal to be finalized within the next couple weeks, and after that, the band can start planning an official album release date. The album itself may be a slight departure from the band's earlier work, Nolan added.

"It's definitely different than the EP and the first album," Nolan said. "There are elements from both, but this album is a little more organic - more acoustics, less electric guitar. Everything is kind of built around the acoustic guitar in this one. In our first album, we kind of wrote around the piano."

Straylight Run has been known for it's melodic and piano-driven indie rock sound. The band is associated with the emo label thanks to its background, but it has always had a sound of its own, distinct from the genre. Nolan believes the new album keeps Straylight Run heading in the right direction, and he looks to continue to separate his band from the pack.

"Overall, I think we've gotten closer to developing our own unique sound. And yet, I can't see fans of the older stuff getting turned off," he said. "It's still us."

Straylight Run includes Nolan's sister, Michelle, who plays both piano and sings on some of the band's songs.

"She sings the songs she writes, and I do the same," Nolan said. "Our versions start out as stripped-down acoustic versions first; then we bring it to the band to make it into what you hear on the album."

Still, Nolan has noticed that nothing the band records can quite compare to its live sound.

"There's an energy when we play [songs] live," Nolan said. "Especially the songs from the first record. It's tough to capture that energy when recording, that urgency you have when you play it live. Our older stuff sounds better now in my opinion when we play it live for that reason. And the songs have grown since our first time in the studio from playing them live."

Nolan and the rest of the crew seem excited about coming to College Park. Straylight Run's drummer, Will Noon, has posted a note about the show on the band's MySpace account ("ps - a terrapin is a turtle...an AWESOME turtle"), and Nolan acknowledges the importance of touring on college campuses.

"Definitely the college audience is a big part of our crowd," he said. "We've done a lot of shows at colleges over the years."

Tickets to tonight's show are $5 for students with a UMD ID and $15 for non-students. You can also listen to streaming audio of the show on www.see.umd.edu.

Contact reporter Adam Z. Winer at awiner42@umd.edu.

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