Nothing for Design Rating: 3/5 Tracks to download: “Kate,” “Vampire in My Town,” “Cannonballs,” “Twentytwenty” For fans of: Dispatch, Guster

Elsinore’s new album, “Nothing for Design” is a fun, if at times indistinct, album of folk rock that never shatters boundaries but at times can be undeniably entertaining.

The Champaign, Illinois-based indie-rock band produces fun tunes that can seem to blend together at points. But, the charismatic lead singer Ryan Groff is able to keep most of the tunes fresh enough to avoid producing a completely staid album.

Elsinore’s ability to make songs that are entertaining and vaguely familiar is both a strength and a weakness. The tension between familiarity and monotony is observed throughout the album. “Timid Maggie May” is a perfect example of what is both good and bad about Elsinore. It starts out with a nice acoustic guitar and piano part. Then lead singer Ryan Groff begins narrating a pretty entertaining story about timid Maggie. But, even though the song is enthusiastic and at points fun, it begins to drag toward the end. Within the context of the album, “Timid Maggie May” feels similar to approximately four other tracks, which makes it seem listless. This inability to have songs distinguish themselves hampers the album.

Even though many of the songs blend together, Elsinore has many strengths as a band. One of their greatest assets is lead singer Ryan Groff, who is able to inject energy into all of the songs, even when they are not the best material. On the album’s stronger tracks, Groff is really able to shine.

On “Kate,” Groff passionately details Kate’s desire to get away from everything and search for divine meaning in her life. This is an especially pertinent sentiment at Wash. U. as midterms are fast approaching and many of us may feel a lot of empathy toward Kate.

Elsinore is also able to produce some incredibly fun songs, such as “Vampire in My Town.” The infectious melody is made even more memorable by its ridiculousness. Groff’s ability to sing “Vampire in my town/ Has taken my baby/ And is sucking me dry” with conviction allows the song to evolve into one of the most enjoyable of the album.

Unfortunately, the strength of “Kate” and “Vampire in My Town” cannot redeem the entire album. Many of the songs seem to be stuck in a bland indie/acoustic rock style that is indistinct and a bit monotonous. Tracks such as “The Long Run,” “Cannonballs” and “Carolina” seem to be only differentiated by tempo, and on “The Long Run” a short saxophone cameo. The inability of many of the tracks to be distinguishable causes the entire album to feel a bit bland. Luckily the enthusiasm of Groff and the rest of the band prevents “Nothing for Design” from being a complete disaster.

Elsinore’s new album “Nothing for Design” is an album that borders between excitement and boredom. Its best tracks are invigorating and fun to listen to, while a large number of tracks are unbelievably indistinct. This causes the album to be a mixed bag-a mixture between horribly bland songs and stirring tracks that are very memorable.

If you want to judge for yourself, Elsinore is playing tomorrow night at the Gargoyle as part of KWUR Week.

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