Admittedly, anymore, it's a little silly to think of an entire record label as having one defining sound. There's too much influence getting divided and spliced by new generations of musicians. Still, when I think of ANTI- Records, I think of the junkyard nightmares of Tom Waits' latter-years output, not the bucolic folk-rock of Saintseneca. The Ohio-based quartet has more in common with fellow ANTI- alumni like Calexico, Dr. Dog and Wilco. Theirs is a supremely melodic sound, filled to the brim with surprising turns and grace notes. Saintseneca may also have the first Christmas-related song I've heard since I don't know when, with "On Holiday" - which is reportedly about a Christmas where a brick flew through singer Zac Little's window. Lots of Saintseneca's songs have this quality of taking what might be twee and steering it into cheerful darkness.

SAINTSENECA, w/ Busman's Holiday, Globelamp, Generifus, 8 p.m., Northern, 414 ½ Legion Way, Olympia, $5