Three Swedish sisters walk into a brewery, one pulls out a banjitar … It sounds like the beginning of a joke but I’m at a loss to find the punch line, because it’s exactly what happened last Thursday, July 15, when Baskery played at the Big Room.
Baskery is no joke. The Bondesson sisters (eldest Greta on six-stringed banjo, middle sister Stella on bass and youngest Sunniya on guitar) deliver shockingly convincing Americana.
“Are you guys ready for some mad, muddy country music?” Greta asked as she strapped a harmonica over her neck and her bare feet finally started kicking the bass and snare-drum pedals at her feet.
Baskery’s markedly more badass alter-ego is based around the eldest sister’s bluesy fretwork and distorted slide. The six-stringed banjo is too often used as a crutch for guitarists unwilling to learn how to pick a real banjo, but Greta is obviously no second-string rhythm player. She uses the instrument both as it was intended to be used and in ways most people wouldn’t dream of. Deeply rooted in traditional blues but with a penchant for volume and feedback, stylistically she could be Jack White’s Swedish cousin.
Ken Smith, Newsreview, Sacramento, Ca. USA
