21

thursday

A small group of people wanders into the depths of Virginia, holes up in an old house, and emerges with a piece of art. The setup has all the makings of a modern-day Thoreau tale, but though the resultant album, In Fields We Will Lie, appreciates the great outdoors, it’s more fun than Walden. Nethers, featuring former members of the Carlsonics, have found a sound that is as difficult to classify as finding your way out of a dark Virginia forest. Whether traversing country or pop, Nikki West’s transcendent voice will make you want to kick your feet up on a deck railing and rock the day away. Song titles such as “Migratory Birds” and “Breastfeathers” may give the impression that the band’s a little too head-in-the-clouds naturalistic, but other numbers such as “Hung Herself in a Birdcage” show that the band is as grounded as, well, a dead canary. Try to decide between your country flannel and your hipster armband when the Nethers play with Page France at 9 p.m. at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. $8. (202) 667-7960. (Kim Gooden)