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Halifax, "The Inevitability Of A Strange World" (Drive Thru Records)

On its debut album, this five-piece from Thousand Oaks, Calif., announces that rock is alive and well. Its music is a mix of pop, punk, rock and metal, and the vocalists actually sing; there's not a screamer within earshot.

Lead vocalist Mike Hunau and guitarist/backing singer Chris Brandt have a habit of finishing each other's lines ("Promise Me Tragedy"; "A Tint Of Rain"; "Murder I Wrote"), as well as adding vocal harmonies ("Anthem For Tonight" about idle idol worship).

The disc opens with "Nightmare," a shot of pop punk, before the hard rock of "Our Revolution," which Hunau says is "an homage to classic metal and Motley Crue in particular." The handclaps and guitar solos prove rock Õn' roll isn't dead, not by a long shot.

And the lyrical themes are totally rock Õn' roll: girls (the cocaine madness of "Snow In Hollywood"), girl trouble ("Hey Italy"; "Better Than Sex"), relationships ("Giant In The Ring") and troubled relationships (the hard-rocking "Promise Me Tragedy"). They also have a fixation with death ("Promise Me Tragedy"), suicide (the rock ballad "A Tint Of Rain") and murder, both hers ("I Told you So") and his ("Murder I Wrote"). They sum it all up on the power ballad "Such A Terrible Trend."

Halifax headlines an all-ages show Wednesday at the Launchpad, 618 Central S.W. Forget McCarran, Indoor Living, After Thought and Good As Dead open. $10. Doors at 7 p.m. 764-8887. Tickets at Virtuous

Listen to "Anthem for Tonight"

Escape The Fate, "Dying Is Your Latest Fashion" (Epitaph)

Metal guitar riffage dominates this Sin City hard rock/screamo outfit's music; however, the quintet from Las Vegas manages to keep the screaming to a minimum. Ronnie Radke has a unique singing voice that he puts to great use (the melodic hard rocker "Reverse The Curse") when he isn't shredding. These guys kind of remind me of From First To Last.

While there seems to be a ton of hurt embedded throughout the songs, pain ("My Apocalypse") and beauty ("Cellar Door") are recurring themes and ghosts recurring imagery ("The Webs We Weave" and "When I Go Out, I Want To Go Out On A Chariot Of Fire" about an accidental (?) homicide). Other motifs are deceit (the aforementioned "Webs" and "Friends And Alibis") and revenge ("Not Good Enough For Truth In Clich‚").

The group's debut album nicks its title from "Situations," a song about girl trouble that comments on the latest fads and trends. When Radke is growling ("The Guillotine"), he can also show some restraint, as on "There's No Sympathy For The Dead." The melodic tension and intensity of this tune comes to a head on the cello outro. The guys really show their musical chops on the unplugged and acoustic "The Day I Left The Womb," where Radke shows off his range on a song about being abandoned by his mother and raised by his father.

Come feel the pain Thursday when Escape The Fate headlines an all-ages Launchpad show. A Thorn For Every Heart, Dear Oceana and Anonymous Victims share the bill. $8. Doors at 7 p.m.

Listen to "Situation"

Eric Bachmann, "To The Races" (Saddle Creek)

After founding Archers Of Loaf in the '90s and Crooked Fingers this millennium, Bachmann sheds the band dynamic for the singer/songwriter route. And the results are achingly beautiful.

Bachmann wrote this batch of songs in June and July 2005 while he was voluntarily living in the back of his van. He recorded the disc last December in a hotel room in North Carolina's Outer Banks. While descriptive and emotive, the songs are unadorned, spare and stark; it's usually just Bachmann on vocals, guitar and the occasional piano.

Female backing vocals and a violin (courtesy of DeVotchKa's Tom Hagerman) add depth and melancholy, especially on "Home," a tune about isolation/desolation with the refrain: "All those stars are friends of mine." If you didn't know the back story, you might think it was about vapid celebrity and/or vacuous famous acquaintances.

When he sings, Bachmann has a nasal twang reminiscent of Dylan's (the celebration of life "Man O' War" and "Carrboro Woman," where he makes generous use of the harmonica), and he can be just as vindictive ("Liars And Thieves"). The two outstanding cuts are "To The Races," with its Gypsy violin racing to a climax, and the raucous "Genie, Genie," a song of redemption where, after describing his trials and tribulations, his addictions and sins, he goes out repeating: "Give me something; I'm looking for something."

Eric Bachmann is on a short tour - eight shows in 10 days; Albuquerque is his last date - opening for DeVotchKa. The twin bill stops Tuesday at Pulse, 4100 Central Ave. S.E. Tickets are $8 in advance at Natural Sound and Tickets at Virtuous; $10 at the door. 8 p.m. 21 and over. Call 255-3334 or 764-8887.

Listen to "Carrboro Woman"