The first thing you notice about Seattle cabaret band The Love Markets are the slips—black, lacy and worn by singer/keyboardist Angie Louise as well as the four esteemed male musicians behind her. “It was the perfect way to express our Weimar-inspired vibe and appear decadent, severe and totally absurd all at the same time,” Louise explains. “Wearing slips was never about drag or dressing as women,” accordionist Rob Witmer adds. “It was more about creating a sense of intimacy with the audience.” The intimate, knowing wink is exactly what makes this band so irresistible—whether singing about prostitutes, revolution, the seduction of fascism, affairs gone bad, banking scams or a dirty song about Wiener Schnitzel. The group’s debut album, World of Your Dreams, contains 12 original tracks written by Louise with lyrics that are satirical, sexy and sad. But the real treat is seeing The Love Markets perform on stage, where the band’s intoxicating theatricality comes alive and sets whole audiences to dreaming of running away with this deliciously dark carnival. CD release party, 8/10. 8 p.m. $20. ACT, 700 Union St.; 206.292.7676; acttheatre.org