If you're hanging out in DC and you find yourself in Dupont Circle, head over to the Phillips Collection, where a full room of Rothkos awaits you. Subtle, bright and dark washes of colour greet you in a variety of combinations that convey as many emotions: despair, restlessness, tranquility, poise, odd moments of content and happiness. Verse by Verse evokes a similar palette of emotions -- never loud, but never dull, either.

Washington, DC's Smart Went Crazy and the Townies contributed members to make the Caribbean. This is the group's first full-length, and it promises a bright future for them. They sound like the Sundays after a cup or two of espresso (eyes half open instead of eyes mostly shut) and with the vox run through a filter (not a vocoder). Jangly guitars and great harmonizing create the body of the work -- see "What Would Jane Jacobs Say?" and "Knife Replaces Blade" -- while cute effects, such as disembodied voices emitting one word and then disappearing ("Front Row at the Rodeo"), polish the work to make the music the fun-fest that it is.

A sense of humour always gives a pop band extra points for charm, and the Caribbean is getting full marks for their subtle yuks. "Help Would Only Confuse Me" grabs the listener with the great title and giggly chorus, sung in a very calm, nonchalant tone; the unusual effect the strings create, a dark undertone, raises the cheerful hopelessness of the lyrics into sharp relief. Whenever piano is employed, as in the title track, the player adds great colour to songs that are already well-shaded with meaning; the organic, repetitive percussion amplifies the piano rather than distorting it. "What Would Jane Jacobs Say?" is fun listening for DC natives, as it lists a variety of local hotspots. "I Am the Mosque" adds some lo-fi background noise, odd, mellow organ tones and a lone whistle.

Most of the songs are short, drawing the listener in and making her want to hear more -- and at that point, the music abruptly cuts off, each idea succinctly stated. The entire disc has great cross-generational appeal; my father heard it, my younger sister (who hates indie pop) heard it, and both liked it a hell of a lot. That could spell a great future for radio play, or mean that the fourth rider of the Apocalypse is coming through. I'm not sure which. In any case, it's fairly certain that you'll like Verse by Verse. If you missed The Caribbean on tour (likely, unless you live in a very small chunk of the Mid-Atlantic), you can make up for it by running out and buying this CD as quickly as you possibly can.