Seattle four-piece Hunting Grounds are in a state of flux. Their already multifaceted sound is about to take an evolutionary leap with the departure of singer Mike Ensor, whose vocal contributions added an unmistakable New Wave vibe to the band's genre-bending indie rock songs. Now remaining members Todd Bernier (guitar, vocals), Jeremy Clemens (guitar, vocals), John Warner (drums, vocals) and new addition Jeff Smith (bass, vocals) aim to renew their focus on songwriting and recording. You'd think having four songwriters (let alone four vocalists) in one band would lead to tension - but if dialectics have taught us anything, it's that conflict begets change, and change is very much on the horizon for this gang of 30-somethings: their show at Bob's Java Jive will be their last under the name Hunting Grounds. As if that weren't enough, they're also relocating to a new practice/recording space.

Their future (both in title and in sound) is a little uncertain. The band has yet to record any new material since their lineup change-up, and Bernier had to offer his own impression of where the band's sound is nowadays: "Jeff has more of a Lou Barlow type of sound, (so) we'll probably end up sounding a little dirtier, but I'll still be throwing in all the really soundscape-y stuff ... some songs will be a little more poppy, and some songs will be a little harder."

"Between us," he says, "we have a broad range of influences ... Dinosaur Jr., Guided by Voices, Swervedriver, My Bloody Valentine, old Spoon. ... It's the way those influences come together (that's interesting)."

And while the band has yet to find a niche for themselves in any one of Seattle's "pocket scenes" of musical sound-alikes, they've made some friends (MK Speed Dial, Perfect Weather, Imperial Legions of Rome), and their options are pretty wide open.

"I feel like (with) the range of music we have going on, we could easily fit in with a lot of different stuff."

Truly, there's no shortage of local bands drawing on the halcyon sounds of ‘90s alternative, but Hunting Grounds have a vibe all their own; mercurial though it may be, it's "change you can believe in."

Hunting Grounds

with Oh Dear! and Dilithium Pistol
Saturday, Oct. 16, 8 p.m., Price TBA
Bob's Java Jive, 2102 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma
253.475.9843