Listening to The Trees’ “Monterey Bay” or “Sounds of the Cypress,” you feel like you’re seeing this region in a new light – an eerie modern light that bores right through the saccharine painterly interpretations of cypress trees we see in galleries and museums, to the bone and gristle of their beauty.

Sounds of waves lapping the shore layer with meditative electric melodies and hard percussion, creating a haunting melody that alternates between heartbreakingly sweet and rough as sandpaper.

Originally hailing from Visalia, Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo, respectively, CSU Monterey Bay music majors Justin Stie, Ben Rosett and Ian Jennings just started jamming together at the beginning of this school year. “Ian came up to me one day and asked if I wanted to jam… and it just worked,” says Stie, who does guitar and vocals. Along with watercolor paintings, the pair began collaboratively creating what Stie appropriately terms “art rock.” Adding drummer Rosett to the mix led to recording experiments in his garage studio that ended up producing Sounds of the Cypress and a new CD scheduled to be released in July or August.

According to Stie, it was Jose’s Underground Lounge that gave the band a foot up into the music scene beyond the borders of CSUMB.

“A lot of our crowd is under-aged,” Stie says, “but they exposed us to new audiences. They gave us a chance.” The Trees’ song “Smokey House Underground” pays tribute to the lounge so beautifully as to more than legitimize its faith in the young band: sultry trumpet notes overlay improvisational guitar for a jazzy, almost French sound that just drips smoke.

Since all three members are prolific composers, the band hasn’t played a cover yet, and doesn’t plan to. In addition to songs from Sounds of the Cypress, this weekend’s show at London Bridge will feature several new songs: the upbeat, dancy “Sahara” will complement acoustic-style “Old Oak Tree” and Latin-flavored “Este Día Bonito.” Between songs, the trio will likely do some improvisational jamming. “We have a background in music, so we can just do that,” says Stie, in his unpretentious, down-to-earth tone.

THE TREES play 9:30pm to 1am on Saturday, June 12, at the London Bridge Pub, 256 Figueroa St., Municipal Wharf Number 2, Monterey. No cover. 373-1353.