They've toured the Northeast, won awards and have been voted the best new artist of 2008, but what the ambitious musicians in Clarity are most excited about is grabbing what has eluded them thus far -- a recording and publishing deal.

The Bucks County quintet will once again bring its contemporary pop-rock sound to SoZo, 256 E. Beaver Ave. The group will perform at 7 p.m. Friday for its third performance in State College, where the number of local fans first exposed to them at an Ataris concert last fall is growing rapidly.

The show will also feature a whole slew of fellow Pennsylvanians. Philadelphia's Jealousy Curve, Lansdale's Parkwright and State College's own North of Nittany will open the show. Advance tickets can be bought for $8 on the band's MySpace page, while tickets at the door will cost $10.

On the band's MySpace page, Clarity members paint themselves as a group with "sweetly placed pop melodies" and an "urbanized electronic rock sound," while listing modern bands such as Maroon 5, The Fray and Augustana as primary influences.

"Everyone listens to different things, which is kind of cool," bassist Paul Mencel said when asked if the group's influences stray too far from the present.

"But basically what's on our page is what we listen to," he said.

After singer/guitarist Patrick Grant played gigs as a solo acoustic act for some time and the band dabbled in cover shows for financial purposes, the five members gathered to officially become Clarity in early 2008. By year's end, Wilmington, Del. radio station 93.7 WSTW had voted the group "Best New Artist of 2008" and runner-up for "Best Band."

Mencel said there is presently about a 50/50 split in the ensemble's State College fanbase, with the majority of new fans showing up after its September performance opening for the veteran pop-punk act.

"We love it," Mencel, who also serves as the band's booking agent, said of playing for the State College fans that populate SoZo.

Katie Patschke (freshman-hotel, restaurant and institutional management) hadn't heard of Clarity before The Ataris' show, but is gearing up to see the band for a third time in one year.

"The lyrics are amazing and they're a really good live band," said Patschke, who added "Sanity" is her favorite Clarity song. "The vocals sound just like they do on their CD."

The disc Patschke referred to is one of the band's demos that has been distributed at shows since the group's inception. Mencel said Clarity's main goal for the remainder of the year is to release music in a more formal manner, ideally an EP to be released in the coming months.

"For 2009, we're trying to put out this EP and get a major publishing deal," he said, adding the band has been speaking with various labels. "We're shooting for TV and movies and hoping to get on a national headlining tour."

Though he is unabashedly optimistic about the future of Clarity, Mencel quickly laughed and clarified his previous statement.

"We'd have to be the opening act on the headlining tour," he said.