If you don't know Regina Hexaphone, it might help to know that singer-guitarist-pianist Sara Bell is a hired gun for Tres Chicas and Anders Parker, or that Margaret White's played violin behind Chan Marshall. Triangulate if you must, but these North Carolinians tend their own lush patch on The Beautiful World. "Cicadas" begins with thumps and twitches; a cymbal buzzes, a pick scratches strings with increasing fervor. A guiro ticks at irregular intervals. Then there's a subtle shift: A moody guitar rings out, a trumpet whines and Chris Clemmons' bass paces like a heartbeat. Bell's words warn of water, but her voice keeps heading toward danger as if in a trance. Violin and guitar rise up like a high wire fence that doesn't keep out what it ought to. When Bell tries a different lyrical tack, her bandmates' voices blend with hers before circling back into separate strains. A guitar squalls as the trumpet takes the lead, then the feedback becomes a faint, steady hum. Everything else trails off into the dark. It's the only place worth being.

Regina Hexaphone's Web site has just a short clip of "Cicadas," and it's not on their MySpace page at all. If you're lucky, they'll play it Friday at The Manhattan Room.