At a time when the lo-fi aesthetic has gone from audacious to quaint, it says a lot that Drug Rug’s rickety production values can still have such jarring effect on the senses. This is not to say that group doesn’t have a taste for quaintness. Centered around the boyfriend-girlfriend duo of Tommy Allen and Sarah Cronin, Drug Rug’s abrasively carefree approach plays like a good-humored mutilation of the heavy reverb and fuzz tones of traditional rock ‘n’ roll. Lovey-dovey vibes and giddiness permeate the songs, and you can practically hear the laughter behind it all, as if Allen, Cronin and their cohorts were finger-painting with sound. Cronin’s squeaking voice gives the music an especially cartoonish quality that transforms into rowdy, good-time glee onstage.
Sat., Feb. 14, 5 p.m., 2009
