Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers, Up In Flames (Sound of New Orleans)

Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers, Up in Flames (Sound of New Orleans)Unlike his contemporaries Keith Frank, Chris Ardoin and Curley Taylor, whose fathers also played professionally, Dwayne Dopsie leans more towards the older, bluesier variety of his father, the legendary Rockin’ Dopsie, Sr., than the mainstream courtings of his peers. Granted his tempos are usually amped up and turbocharged on this all-original affair, but they’re not that much faster than some of the catch-your-breath numbers that Dopsie, Sr. and zydeco’s founding patriarch Clifton Chenier played in their day.

Just as it was for zydeco’s first generation practitioners, the focus here is on accordion virtuosity, meaning that this Dopsie has few peers who can crank out the blindingly-quick runs in effortless succession. Towards the end on several tracks, he goes on a rampage, playing in impressive rhythmic unison with rubboardist Alex MacDonald for a metal-on-metal assault. In keeping with tradition, he’s also one of the few that still features a saxophonist (Carl Landry) in the line-up as well as a guitar man (Shelton Sonnier) who’s allowed to tear it up with feisty fretwork.

Occasionally, Dopsie switches gears with something his father could conceivably have played such as the bluesy romp “Start All Over Again” and the Sly and the Family Stone inspired-three-part vocals on “Just Come Back Home,” which literally sound like a mumbling séance.