Rock that's not too low, not too precious

You don’t have to listen to much of Low Vs Diamond’s first single to get an idea of where songwriter Lucas Field is coming from — dirty and restless guitars, muted atmospherics, vocals pleading to “show you ‘Life After Love.’”

“As a middle-schooler in Seattle, I listened to the things you’d expect — Mudhoney, PJ Harvey, Sonic Youth, Nirvana,” Field says. “Then I went to Colorado for school, and it was like, ‘Oh, the String Cheese Incident is playing tonight.’ It sent me in a different direction.”

For now, the L.A.-based quintet stands precipitously between overwrought melancholy and chimey hopefulness, avoiding both excesses. While Field’s introspective songwriting leans toward the former, the band’s music plays to an optimism that stops short of outright glee.

Not that Low Vs Diamond's commercial prospects don't suggest the latter. Singer-guitarist Field, drummer Howie Diamond, keyboardist Tad Moore, guitarist Anthony Polcino and bassist Johnny Pancoast hooked up with British label Marrakesh Records (formerly Lizard King, which initially signed the Killers) for a debut EP out Feb. 5 in England. Then Epic inked to the band to a U.S. deal.

Only a year after playing around town as Colored Shadows and retooling its lineup, Low Vs Diamond is recording its debut with producers Stacy Jones and Bill Lefler. “It’s going to be sweet,” says Field, 26. “I’m always going to be into arrangements like [in the songs of] Bacharach, Marvin Gaye and artists like that. But I want to incorporate the big moments that rock fans love.”

||| Low Vs Diamond plays Thursday night at the Troubadour.

||| Hear "Life After Love."

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Tonight's touts: Cut Chemist holds forth at Safari Sam's. ... Singer-songwriter Priscilla Ahn kicks off a residency at the Hotel Cafe (where Patrick Park also performs). ... Scissors for Lefty brings its dance party to Club Moscow at Boardner's. ... And Daphne Loves Derby, Meg & Dia and Ronnie Day play an acoustic show at the Knitting Factory -- their dates Friday and Saturday at Chain Reaction in Anaheim are sold out.

Photo: From left, Tad Moore, Howie Diamond, Lucas Field, Anthony Polcino, John Pancoast (by Jade Loop)