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The Silent Years, "The Silent Years" (No Alternative Records)

Josh Epstein, frontman of this Detroit quintet, writes poetry and has a major obsession with the denizen from Hades (the swaggering rocker "The Devil Wears Sunshine" and "Devil Got My Woman" a forlorn lament with echoey vocals sung through a megaphone).

His band plays jangly indie rock with a proclivity for Brit pop and vocal harmonies - "Lidocaine," an ode to the painkiller, "Someone to Keep Us Warm" and "Someday," with the lyric: "I had to find something to complain about."

The guys tone it down a bit on "Aisleways," a sweet, vibraphone-driven ballad, and the acoustic-fingerpicking of "Lost at Sea." A synth-hook melody propels "No More Magic," while "This Town" is an urgent Strokes-like tune that comes to an all-too-soon abrupt stop. "Take the Money Out" starts as an indie rave-up, becomes a slow waltz, then takes off again. Acute menace and sonic overload fuel "Sharks," which offers this ambiguous come-on: "You can swim with the sharks. With no tank, no guards and no bark. But there's blood in the water. I think maybe you should go home."

The Silent Years won't be so silent Saturday at Atomic Cantina, 315 Gold Ave. S.W. Adam Don't Care and Skinwalkers share the bill at 10 p.m. 21 and over. Free. Call 242-2200.

Listen to "No Secrets"

Calexico, "Garden Ruin" (Quarterstick Records)

The duo from Tucson is augmented with a little help from their friends on their fifth "official" full-length release, creating a sort of honky-tonk orchestra.

Joey Burns and John Convertino have moved beyond the atmospherics and the soundtracks for imaginary spaghetti Westerns to more evocative tunes (the melancholy yet hopeful "Lucky Dime" and "Bisbee Blue," a love letter to a mining town that's the antithesis of urban sprawl), while incorporating more pop and rock elements ("All Systems Red" and "Cruel," a country-rock diatribe that accuses the current regime of selling out our future).

Burns' haunting voice is in fine form throughout, especially on the plaintive "Yours and Mine," which features just the duo on drums, guitar and cello. However, the upbeat melodies often belie somber lyrics and themes. The guys have taken a look at contemporary America and (mostly) don't like what they see: corruption and greed ("Cruel" and "Deep Down"). So, on "All Systems Red" they rage against the machine: "Forgetting everything you ever dreamed years ago. When the dread is flowing down my veins, I want to tear it down and build it up again."

Yet Burns and Convertino offer nods to the group's past, as on "Nom de Plume," a Gypsy-country French noir, and the bilingual "Roka (Danza de la Muerte)," a Mexican dance with death filled out with brass and horns.

On a side note: Calexico is touring as a six-piece during a one-week Southwest/West Coast outing. Besides the new disc, they are also promoting the groups Humane Borders, which offers humanitarian assistance to those in need through more than 70 emergency watering stations on and near the U.S.-Mexico border in the Arizona desert, and Music For America, a nonprofit that connects concertgoers with national and local social justice organizations while advancing political issues that affect the 18- to 35-year-old demographic.

Listen to "Cruel"

Annuals, "Be He Me" (Ace Fu Records)

This North Carolina six-piece musical collective is driven by two drummers and much percussion, plus samples and sound manipulation. Soaring vocal harmonies compliment the dream-state lead vocals on this pop-inflected indie rock. The band creates a layered wall of sound with lots going on (the loud-soft-loud sonic freakout "Brother"), while imbuing an almost psychedelic quality to the music ("Mama" and "Ida, My").

Lead vocalist and songwriter Adam Baker has an intriguing imagination (the fantasy rocker "The Bull, And The Goat," which has nothing to do with the aforementioned animals), as well as a fascination with death (most of the tunes but especially "Sway"; "Father," his tribute to his dad who suffered from cancer before committing suicide earlier this year; and "Bleary-Eyed," where a yearning pedal-steel guitar gives it a country-rock feel).

But it's not all doom and gloom. "Complete, or Completing" is a vocal roundelay with a circuslike quality, while "Fair" is a meditation on life. Sometimes it seems like you're almost eavesdropping on some secret music club's rites and rituals ("Carry Around" and "Chase You Off," where Baker sings: "At least I found my sanity"). These 20-somethings are musically wise beyond their years.

Annuals open for Calexico at 9 p.m. Sunday at the Launchpad, 618 Central Ave. S.W. $15. 21 and over. Call 764-8887. www.virtuous.com

Listen to "Bleary-Eyed"