Once in a blue moon, you come across an album that makes you happy for no particular reason. You turn it on, you hit repeat. And again. And again. Maybe it's the colourful cover that drew your eye in. Or maybe it's the surprise of lyrics hidden within a pocket of the case. Or perhaps it's the quality of music that you liked so much. Music that shoots an arrow to your heart and leaves you only with good metaphors to describe the sound that makes you glow from your earbuds to your smile.

Us and Others is a band that may lead to presuppositions that they have a typical rock sound. But when you listen to the entire album — slightly less than 60 minutes of music — you realize that this is a band that is meant to be discovered. They are hard to find on the web; there were few if any reviews written on Patchwork, and their existence is slowly coming towards the air.

Graeme Cornies (guitar, vocals), Ferg Hyde (bass, vocals), Martyn Skrzypczyk (lead guitar), James Taylor (keyboard) and Joel Stouffer (drums) meet together to formulate a calming, easygoing and upbeat album that you can listen to with company, on your own or just keep in the background when you need the comfort of a singing voice when you are home alone. The 13 songs are wide-ranging and diverse.

There are similarities between the song Too Late with standard rock bands, like Fuel or Lifehouse. But with other, more individualistic tunes, some hard-hitting poetry, and variation within the album makes Patchwork a worthwhile purchase for your girlfriend or boyfriend. Or just for you, too.

There are quicker, toe-tapping songs, and then there are the slower ballads like That Door Shut, or the poignant Lost At Sea, with lyrics like:

"Though you seem lost at sea/Cut your anchor/You'll fare better drifting/Through clouds cover the stars/You might find where you are is/Worth being here."

Us and Others began in early 2008. The name evolved from early recording sessions, where each song featured an assortment of players playing different instruments. "The nature of the scattered studio sessions, the multitude of players involved, and the subject matter of the tunes, gave rise to the album title Patchwork," according to the band's Facebook page. A fitting title, since one thinks of a patchwork quilt being warm and soothing - kind of like this particular album.

What is even more remarkable about this band is that during the January 8 launch of Patchwork in Toronto at the El Mocambo, all proceeds from the event went to Serving Charity. Revenue was split evenly between the agency's work with Toronto's homeless people and an orphanage that recently opened in Haiti to help those devastated by last year's earthquake.

For more information about the band, visit myspace.com/usandothers or tinyurl.com/facebookusandothers. For more information about Serving Charity, visit servingcharity.com.

Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5