Despite the dark and moody quality of their music, the members of Minneapolis-based quintet Clair De Lune are actually pretty upbeat guys.

Guitarist Tom Caughlan says the band’s live show makes the audience feel good, even though its latest album, “Marionettes,” sounds a little depressing.

“People take a totally different spin on the music during a live show,” Caughlan says. “It’s not so serious, dark and emotive and all that. It’s really high energy and it gives people a really positive vibe.”

Caughlan, however, concedes that the songs themselves may sound sad, since they are written almost exclusively in minor keys and are accompanied by lyrics that deal with the woes of society.

Although these are standard song ingredients for a band that falls within the hardcore genre, Clair De Lune is not your standard hardcore band.

For one thing, the group has a piano player, almost unheard of in punk and hardcore music. It also leans toward long instrumentals and constantly changing tempos, a tendency more often found in progressive rock or “jam” rock.

Caughlan says when his band formed two years ago, it immediately set out to do something fresh for the genre.

“We were all into the same kind of music but wanted to take a different spin on it and put some more atmospheric elements in the mix,” Caughlan says. “We try to stay away from cliches and stuff and forge our own sound. I think most people think it doesn’t sound like other stuff out there.”

In the midst of its second national tour since “Marionettes” dropped last June, Clair De Lune’s “individual” sound is getting attention in places far from its hometown. The band recently played shows in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, and Caughlan says the response has been overwhelming, even in these foreign locales.

“We’ve been trying to hit the road as much as possible and get the new material out there,” Caughlan says. “Our crowds have steadily improved and we’ve had a great turnout at every show, even at places we’ve never been to.”

Des Moines is one of those places. Caughlan is hoping for a good turnout, but says making it big isn’t a major priority among band members.

“I think we just want to have a body of work that we are proud of down the road,” he says.

Who: Clair De Lune with Little Brazil, Day’s Fired, and the Envy Corps

Where: Vaudeville Mews, 212 4th St., Des Moines

When: 10 p.m. Saturday

Cost: $5