Hailing from what students come to recognize as the northern Illinois area come four self-proclaimed jokester-dorks who together form the band Pattern Crawler.

Originally NIU students, Craig Borchers (drummer), Brian Block (guitar/lead vocals), Kristen Ousen (guitar/keyboard) and Ben Lewis (bass) have been playing hard rock under the Pattern Crawler name for about two years.

“It comes from a technique that teaches babies and people who can’t move or walk on their own how to crawl,” Block said when asked about the band’s thought-invoking name.

Borchers, Block and Ousen said after they advertised for a show on campus sidewalks, they found out their band name was the inspiration for a project in an NIU art class.

The members classify their music as hard progressive rock and, like many artists, use their music as an outlet for their inner feelings.

“Most of the songs come from being afraid of being trapped in this suburban, middle-class cycle that I come from,” said Block. “I think it really appeals to people our own age — these lost twenty-somethings who are afraid to commit to things and don’t know what they’re going to do with their lives.”

In their recent album, “This is an Aquarium,” Pattern Crawler not only uses their music to vent their personal frustrations, but they also try to relate to their listeners and take them on a metaphorical, musical journey.

In the album, the band includes two short instrumental vignettes that showcase their technical ability.

Lasting only 39 seconds, “Paraxocoetus Ascent” takes the listener on a weird journey so much that it sounds as if he or she is in a “Planet Earth” special on strange deep-water sea creatures.

Other noteworthy tracks include “Flora” and “Watching Wars on TV.” The songs are almost polar opposites when it comes to individual song personality and they convey very different feelings.

“Flora” is more delicate, soothing and a little bittersweet, while “Watching Wars on TV” seems to be the most aggressive song on the album.

“Watching Wars on TV” flips between slow and soothing to quick, fast-paced interludes which, like the band mentions, does in fact keep you on your toes, unsure of what may come next.

“This is an Aquarium” is a great CD to listen to when studying or reading as it finds a healthy, resting medium between heavy rock and airy instrumentals.

In an era when much of music is unoriginal and boring, Pattern Crawler steps outside their fun-loving , joking lifestyles to produce music that artfully reflects the feelings of those and many others.

The band successfully adds thoughtful, instrumental layers to their music in an effort to give their songs a unique and lasting twist.

“I always try to come up with layers [in our music] and always change what’s going on in the song,” Ousen said. “It’s atmospheric. There’s a lot of stuff that draws you in, whether it’s vocals or guitar rhythm.”

When it comes to their song writing, the band goes through an assembly line process that allows each member to input their thoughts into the music.

“As far as music goes, Brian comes up with the main idea,” Borchers said. “Ben and I work with the assembly of it and Kristen is the Cool Whip — the frosting on top.”

The members of Pattern Crawler are dedicated not only to their music but also to their normalcy.

In the words of Ousen, “We’re just a bunch of dudes who happen to be in a band.”