Delta Spirit/Waters

Americana-leaning indie rockers Delta Spirit got a big boost last year when their song “Devil Knows You're Dead” was featured in the very last scene of the very last episode of Friday Night Lights. And like that musical set piece, which comes from the San Diego quintet's 2010 album History From Below, the songs on the band's just-released self-titled third album are moody, haunting, haunted, and maybe just a little bit scarred. There's a big world just waiting to be explored on Delta Spirit, and frontman Matt Vasquez dives into it with outstretched arms, scooping up bits of the past along the way. They're a little like My Morning Jacket without all the guitar-hero stuff and with more lyrics about subjects most people can relate to (relationships and home are big on the new record). And on some of the songs they stalk and pounce, a combative stance rarely heard on their other two albums. Look for this new-found aggression to drive the songs, both old and new, when they come to the Beachland this week. -- Michael Gallucci