The music of Baltic Cousins is defined by balls-out folk instrumentation, with Lockhart's voice shouting above the crazed din. It calls to mind easy comparisons like the Pogues, with its melding of traditional instrumentation and sloppy, emotionally resonant melodies and lyrics. There's nothing involving half-measures even close to the work of Baltic Cousins. Everything has an urgency and unapologetically bombastic energy to it. Though there's nothing new to the idea of introducing punk to the folk world (and nothing, it should be noted, incongruous about it, since folk and punk share the history of bringing voices to the underprivileged revolutionaries of the world), the way that Baltic Cousins combine the sounds has an interesting bent to it.
BALTIC COUSINS, w/ Santee, Tortilla Flat, 9 p.m., Friday, June 14, The New Frontier Lounge, 301 E. 25th St, Tacoma, cover TBA, 253.572.4020
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