The Drovers are bringing something back to music that the angst of alternative rock took away. It’s a style of music similar to Smashing Pumpkins’ “Disarm” — a style of music that is beautiful.

“There is a lot of cleverness in modern music,” Drovers vocalist and bassist David Callahan said. “But there are tons of beautiful records out there that people aren’t aware of.”

The Drovers bring their beautiful tunes to the Maintenance Shop this weekend in celebration of the release of Little High Sky Show, due out in stores on October 3. Show is the third release in three years for the band, whose Irish, Celtic sound earned a slot among Billboard magazine’s top 10 Windy City bands.

“We look like a rock band, but weren’t not one,” Callahan said. “We don’t use rock beats. We use beats from ancient forms of music, classical and historical dance. I like rock music, I’m just not into it as a musician. The Drovers are something different and something I fit better into.”

Little High Sky Show features engineers whose resumes include work with PJ Harvey, Archers of Loaf and Smashing Pumpkins. Cellist Eric Remschneider, a contributor on Pumpkin’s Siamese Dream, also adds to the project.

Tommy Roberts and Linda Pitmon of Minneapolis’ Fauna, who will open for The Drovers this weekend, handled some engineering and drumming on the disc.

“There’s no certain formula we use in writing,” Callahan added. “We all collaborate our ideas and Mike [Kirkpatrick] and I write the songs. We’ve had success in the past with all the formulas.”

Kirkpatrick also plays guitar for the quartet. Paul Bradley handles drums while Sean Cleland mixes in his violin and mandolin. “Sean and Mike had known each other for 10 years,” he said. “Sean wanted to find a band that his violin style could fit. Eventually they dropped away from other members and hooked up with myself.

“We have had three different drummers who have been able to fit in with our style. Paul is the best we’ve had.”

The Drovers first release, World of Monsters, sold nearly 8,000 copies through independent distribution. “It was a very straightforward effort, done at low costs,” Callahan said. The band followed with the highly-praised E.P., Kill Mice Elf. The band’s rapid success lead them to roles in the 1994 film, Blink. The Drovers also handled the soundtrack for the film.

The Drovers mix electric guitars with acoustic instruments to create their dramatic melodies. Despite the band’s success, they have yet to sign a major record contract. “It’s not in our plan, but we’ll listen. We may consider a deal that doesn’t stand in between what we want to accomplish as musicians. We do what we want to do,” Callahan said.

“We don’t sound the same live,” he said. “We are more excited when we are on stage playing for an audience. We play with a quicker tempo and have a lot more things that demand concentration. In the studio we concentrate on layering and technical stuff rather than the sound of our amps.”

The Drovers, rooted from the poem “Drover”, plan on touring the U.S. and Europe in support of their new release. The band hopes to tour with more exposed musicians to get expanded recognition.

“Things have gone in slow motion the last few years,” Callahan exclaimed. “I expect things to pick up. If a band has the ability to record then they can go along way. We want to get a home-made studio going. That way we can record our ideas while on tour.”

The Drovers played the M-Shop last year and return the same lineup for performances on Saturday night at 8 and 11 and Sunday at 6 p.m.. Tickets for the show are $7, $6 for students.

“It’s probably the best college campus bill we’ve played,” Callahan closed. “It’s a good, intimate room. None of that weird club bullshit.”