Unhinged Orwells At The Ballroom

There are a number of things to admire about the Illinois garage-rock band the Orwells, independent of its music. The singer’s name is Mario Cuomo, which seems like it should be a point of pride. And the band has a record titled “Disgraceland,” which speaks to a sense of dark humor and musical history.

Frontman Cuomo has demonstrated verifiable punk-rock attitude in high-profile scraps along the way, once picking an onstage fight with a soundman. (What member of a rock band has never wanted to take it outside with a soundman?) The band’s 2017 record “Terrible Human Beings” seems like it might be about, well, you take your pick. If you want a muscular and musical glimpse into the real American carnage of dead-end situations, hopelessness and homelessness, listen to “Creatures” off the new one.

There’s an appealing deliriousness to the Orwells’ records. “Hippie Soldier,” also off their latest, has hints of “Odelay”-era Beck, with its fuzzed-out psychedelic sludge and languid “sha-la-la” vocals. The Orwells have a defiant and slightly combustible cool that is made from seeming to genuinely not care.

The Orwells perform at the Ballroom at the Outer Space, 295 Treadwell St., Hamden, Wednesday, May 31, at 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 to $18. 203-288-6400, thespacect.com.