New York-based Assembly of Dust inhabits both worlds. Well-structured songs based on stories and character analysis, and a little bit of twang, give the band an undeniably alt-country flavor. Big poppy choruses and the band's knack for improvising leads gives those country-based songs a jam-band groove, and the interesting combination of musical roots and branches makes Assembly of Dust worth seeing when they begin a two-month U.S. tour Saturday at Club Cafe.

"I think there's certainly a country gene in there, for sure," says co-songwriter, guitarist and singer Reid Genauer. "But there's a groove element, too. I've been saying it's roots-pop [or] Americana with a Motown lilt. ... [One song's] chorus, a big Crosby, Stills and Nash thing, I've been calling it our 'arena-cana' moment."

Despite the jargon, Genauer seems to have a grasp on what Assembly of Dust is going for. Depending on how you look at it, the band is either ripping the seams of country song structure with rambling hippy grooves, or pounding structurally sound musical rebar into free-form improv jams.

"On one level, I get [the jam band philosophy] and I'm immersed in it and the band has respect for it. Aesthetically, I think there's that bohemian element [to our music] and I'm not afraid of that. But [groove music] has become such a black hole, so vague ... so intimately linked to a lack of song structure and self-indulgent music. We've really strived to craft songs and articulate them well, to be very conscious of instrumentation and arrangements."

It seems to be working. The band's second CD, 2004's "The Honest Hour," was recorded live in an upstate New York club and became something of an independent radio hit. Hybrid Recordings will release their new studio album "Recollection" in March.

"I have no doubt in my mind that the jam band kids will get into and enjoy this music," says Genauer. "They'll understand and respect it. The question is, does this music cross over and get access in indie folk and Americana? Who knows? The hooky pop elements are contagious, that's for sure, and I think people are hungry for real music."