WEDNESDAY

Having been recently afflicted, I can tell you with shuddering clarity that the Caribbean’s newest disc, William of Orange, is the perfect accompaniment to a case of food poisoning. The five tracks’ switch-’em-up backbeats and upper-register harmonies complement the bone-deep discomfort of a day spent (in its more pleasant moments) shifting positions on a futon, but the acoustic melodies soothe. The disc’s lyrics are its strongest point—misery loves company, and Michael Kentoff’s lines about life’s unfairnesses make for one swell pity party: “The druggist’s car, a Rabbit, smelled like oil + coffee….had no radio or tape deck/Begged my mom to let me drive our Chevy wagon/She said: ‘You’ll drive what they have there.’” Parents just don’t understand, indeed. True, in my clearer-headed state, the band’s first release on the Hometapes label—after two fine, more poplike outings with Winnipeg’s Endearing Records—sometimes meanders a bit. But the former members of D.C. groups the Townies and Smart Went Crazy (guitarist-vocalist Kentoff, bassist Matthew Byars, drummer Tony Dennison, and mostly-keyboardist Don Campbell—plus the ever-present various friends) are well on their way to solidifying a quirky, sad-sack groove of their own, a feat that should never be underestimated. The band plays with the Butcher Shop Quartet at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 31, at the Warehouse Next Door, 1017 7th St. NW. $8. (202) 783-3933. (Anne Marson)