By most objective measures, it would be wrong to call Grammy-nominated Cajun band the Lost Bayou Ramblers punk rock, but everything they play goes forward and does so hard (though not necessarily fast). They keep it straightforward (though not necessarily simple), and they’re not afraid of abrasive textures (particularly in Andre Michot’s accordion). On fiddle great Varise Conner’s “Hommage a Varise,” you think you’re getting a break in Louis Michot’s delicate, sweet playing for the first minute, but when a second fiddle joins, there’s the same insistence and syncopation that fills a dance floor.

But in most ways, Vermilionaire is country music—music from the country. The instrumentation is all acoustic, Louis Michot’s yowl is strong and twangy, and their only concessions to modernity are bassist Alan LaFleur and OffBeat contributor Christopher Courville on drums. For musical inspiration, they look back to Conner, Lawrence Walker and Austin Pitre, and they treat the music as dance music first and foremost, highlighting the swirling quality of music that fills the Jazz Fest Cajun mosh pit. The intensity and singlemindedness with which they foreground it, though—that’s punk rock, and keeps the music from sounding retro or dusty.