The road to recognition?

There is a standard modus operandi in the record industry. An act records an album, promotes it, then supports it with a tour. The British band Gomez, however, has never been keen on standards. Having won Britain's prestigious Mercury Award for its 1998 debut, "Bring It On," the quintet immediately catapulted to the forefront of the European music scene, going on to sell nearly a half-million records. Yet it begins a US tour Monday night with no single out and no confirmed release date for its recently completed fifth album -- only a strong sense of purpose to establish itself in this country.

"Are we really dedicated to coming back to America . . . and really making sure that the American people hear us and get exposed to us?" asks singer/guitarist/keyboardist Tom Gray. "The answer is absolutely. That's probably the highest priority for us."

It is also a new priority. Despite achieving stardom overseas, Gomez has remained mostly a cult favorite in this country, though it has toured here several times. With the release of its next album (earmarked for the spring), the push is on to take the band's innovative melding of swampy roots music and cutting-edge electronic tinges to the next level. What better way to start the excitement than a tour showcasing the new material?

"The logic with this is when there's no record to promote and nothing in the marketplace, get them over here and get people talking about Gomez again," says Howard Petruziello, national promotion director for Virgin Records, the band's label. "Let them work the new stuff out live and create a more organic buzz than jamming a record into the full-on press assault, television assault, and radio assault. Let's just let them do it organically because they're really that kind of band."

Gomez's live shows have always been a defining factor in its success. With an infectious zeal, its members liberally trade instruments onstage and take turns out front, a reflection of their overall approach to recording. Everyone contributes songs, or parts of songs, to the albums.

"It's just a common goal as opposed to any self-aggrandizing [process]," says Ian Ball, who like Gray is responsible for many of the inventive musical musings in the Gomez lexicon. Yet if the band was willing to follow virtually any melodic whim in the past, it has reined in some of those tendencies on its latest studio effort, recorded with the help of producer Tchad Blake (Pearl Jam, Sheryl Crow).

"There's a little bit less of everything; everything's a little bit clearer," Ball says, then giggles devilishly. "It sounds good live. We've been rehearsing it just now, and it sounded pretty tasty."

The results will be heard in the band's live set, which will offer a healthy dose of its catalog as well as showcase four or five new songs each evening.

"What you will hear is one or two more crafted, for want of a better word, `pop' songs, mixed in with six-minute anthemic things that go off at the end," Gray says with a laugh, an acknowledgment of the band's willingness in past shows to push songs past the 10-minute barrier.

"We'd become very concerned with making that sound work with this sound, and that became quite long-winded," he says. The process of blending his and Ball's musical tenets with the ideas of singer/guitarist Ben Ottewell, bassist Paul Blackburn, and drummer Olly Peacock grew more challenging as they all matured musically and became more focused on the particulars they bring to a song. "Producing even one song became a much harder thing for us, whereas in the past we used to record a song in a day."

The question remains, however, if their efforts will translate to American radio success, a barrier the band has yet to overcome. "As much as I love the band and the stuff they've done so far, they really haven't gotten the airplay they should have," says Nicole Sandler, program director for WXRV-FM (92.5). "The quality is no question . . . but they need to come with something that will get played on the radio."

Gray feels optimistic about the band's chances but says it's a difficult prospect.

"The music scene is a completely different place. It's like politics; the center moves around all the time," he says before contemplating the current state of radio. "In 1978, Queen's `Bohemian Rhapsody' was a pop song. If someone recorded `Bohemian Rhapsody' tomorrow, they wouldn't put it on the radio."

Ball's goals are more immediate. Having recently relocated to Los Angeles with a new bride, he is well aware of the importance of record sales in the US market.

"I think it would be great if everybody in America bought the record when it comes out," he says with a chuckle. "Every single person, not just one in every home."

Gomez performs with Rachael Yamagata on Monday at the Paradise Rock Club, 967 Commonwealth Ave.. Tickets are $20 and are available through Next Ticketing, 617-423-6398.