If one thing can be taken from Binghamton-based string band Driftwood, it's that it is OK to be just a string band — a goddamned good one at that. So many bands that sail Americana waters seem afraid to let go and let it be. They apparently feel obligated to rope in some of that rock ' n' roll wooby. Driftwood is different; the acoustic quartet latches on by letting go. Sure, there's a contemporary freshness and fragrance arising from Driftwood's self-titled third CD, as well as the stages it haunts. But there's also a timeless melancholy floating within its antiquity. It's both lonely and lovely.

Driftwood plays Saturday, January 25, 9:30 p.m. at Sticky Lips Juke Joint, 830 Jefferson Road. $10. stickylipsbbq.com.