The Defibulators at The Basement

Clever, hotfooted, Brooklyn-born bluegrass septet The DEFiBULATORS bring the mix du jour of punky energy and hipster insouciance, doing hillbilly with wry humor. There’s a playful junkyard raggedness—not to mention pretty duet vocal harmonies—between Erin Bru and Bug Jennings that brings a homey charm to their debut LP Corn Money. They wander a bit about the Americana atlas, exploring some of the jazzier and torchier climes: imagine the Squirrel Nut Zippers with a yen for Buck Owens. There’s more than a little musicianship at work, which helps compensate for the occasionally put-on, Hee Haw-derived minstrelsy that almost inevitably accompanies the phrase “Brooklyn country act.” But even when you’re tempted to question the depth of their backwoods passions, the sound’s keenly rendered and rife with foot-stomping verve. 8
Sun., July 5, 8 p.m., 2009