*** Subrosa

NEVER BET THE DEVIL YOUR HEAD

(Sony 550 Music)

Guitarist Travis Tooke and drummer Jack Griego were the only survivors when a van carrying For Squirrels, a fledgling Florida foursome, overturned in 1995, killing their lead singer, bassist, and road manager. Tooke and Griego carried on as For Squirrels for a tour to support the band's debut, Example, with Andy Lord on bass and Tooke handling vocals. But it was painfully evident that bright promise had turned to grim survival, and you could hear it in the searing rage of Tooke's voice when he sang the group's hit "Mighty K.C."

The rage has abated in Never Bet the Devil Your Head's dark songs about grasping for what's just out of reach and what's too close at hand. Nihilism and death still loom in tracks like "Pretend," where the band use the whisper-to-a-scream dynamics of the Pixies and Nirvana. Yet Subrosa avoid the neo-grunge-clone routine and don't come across as heavy-handed, thanks to sharp songs that slice -- sometimes jaggedly, sometimes cleanly -- to the bone.

-- Jonathan Perry