In the wake of the tragic and unexpected death of founding member, saxophonist LeRoi Moore, in mid-August 2008, the Dave Matthews Band retreated to New Orleans’ Piety Street Studios in early 2009 to complete the recording of their seventh studio album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. From the Matthews-penned cover art, which depicts a fantastical Mardi Gras morning in the French Quarter led by a float adorned with a kingly, lion-like image of Moore, to the album’s opening and closing tones, Big Whiskey pays homage to the late saxman.

Over the years, Matthews’ arresting howl has lost a bit of its wild, riveting tempestuousness. Here, producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day) designates Matthews’ scratchy, reverberant tenor to the middle of the mix, molding a brawny, rough-around-the-edges sound that draws out Matthews’ enigmatic charm—his ability to swim against a fierce rhythmic undercurrent, sink into a sea of strings and scat atop sailing horn harmonies. Though less dynamic than the DMB’s previous endeavors, Big Whiskey is arguably the band’s most intricate and compelling affair. Whether musing over life’s ironies (“Funny the Way It Is”), rejoicing in the duality of man (“Why I Am”) or raging against twisted ideologies (“Time Bomb”), Matthews shows that even when dancing in a parade he is just as cunning, rhapsodic and savage as ever. Make way for the GrooGrux King.